A teenager in Essex, England was arrested for being part of DDOS attacks against major Websites. There are reports he may be part of the LulzSec hacking group.
British police arrested a teenager based in Essex, England,
who is accused breaching networks and launching distribute denial of service
attacks around the world. He may or may not be a part of the LulzSec hacking group.
The 19 year old was arrested at his home in Wickford, Essex,
on suspicion of breaching the Computer Misuse Act, police said June 21.
Specialist officers seized his computer equipment, and a forensic examination is
currently under way. He was taken to a central London police station and is
being questioned.
The operation involved law enforcement officials from the
local Essex police department,
Metropolitan
police central e-crime unit (PCeU) and the United States FBI.
"The arrest follows an investigation into network
intrusions and DDoS attacks against a number of international business and
intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group," the
PCeU said in a statement.
The group of hackers known as LulzSec claimed responsibility
for several of the recent high-profile attacks around the world, including the
United Kingdom's Serious Organized Crime Agency, a public network for the
United States Senate, a Website belonging to the Central Intelligence Agency,
Nintendo's Website and multiple Sony services. The police believe the same
group of hackers conducted all the attacks.
"The controversial LulzSec group has been playing a
dangerous game - their Twitter account, which has more than 220,000 followers,
has become increasingly vocal - embarrassing computer crime authorities and
large organizations around the world with their attacks," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
Several British papers such as the Daily Mail and SkyNews
have referred to the arrested suspect as the LulzSec "mastermind" but the
police have not confirmed or denied that claim. The police statement only hints
at the LulzSec connection, as well.
As for
LulzSec, the
group remained defiant on its Twitter feed. "Seems the glorious leader of
LulzSec got arrested, it's all over now... wait... we're all still here! Which poor
bastard did they take down?" said a post on Twitter this morning.
Everyone will now be looking at LulzSec's Twitter feed,
Cluley said. "Will it be a case of who lulz last, laughs longest?"
To go along with its cyber-pranks breaching Websites around
the world, LulzSec announced June 20 it will team up with hacktivist collective
Anonymous to wreak havoc on governments and giant corporations as part of
Operation Anti-Security.
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