The FIFA World Cup security team’s wireless network password was leaked to the internet this week, in a photograph briefly posted on the Correio Braziliense website.
Security architect Augusto Barros copied the image to Twitter, pointing out that the network and password were clearly visible on a screen behind Luiz Dorea, head of the Centre for International Police Cooperation in Brasilia, the country’s capital.
His tweet received more than 3,000 retweets, informing the world that the group charged with security at the World Cup had chosen "b5a2112014" as the password for their network, a corruption of the tournament’s name.
Hackers may have been able to use the password to infiltrate the network, though as of yet no breaches related to the leak have been reported.
The centre is the workplace for 205 foreign and 75 Brazilian police covering the tournament at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia, opened just prior to the games and intended to be used as an intelligence and IT hub once the event has finished.
Police working there in partnership with security firm RISCO have access to hundreds of security cameras in the 12 cities hosting the tournament, in addition to data from international police organisations.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the Brazilian government is spending £500m on security throughout the World Cup, though it is unknown how much of this has been assigned to policing password policies.
