Police have tracked down and arrested a 15-year old hacker from Northern Ireland who is alleged to have initiated a devastating hack on the Internet Service Provider, Talk Talk.
The Metropolitan Police issued a statement to confirm the boy had been captured in County Antrim, suspected of offences relating to the Computer Misuse act.
Talk Talk also issued a statement, which was read by the Police:
“We know this has been a worrying time for customers and we are grateful for the swift response and hard work of the police. We will continue to assist with the ongoing investigation.
“In the meantime, we advise customers to visit http://talktalk.co.uk/secure for updates and information regarding this incident.”
Sign him up
Teenage hackers are commonplace in modern day society, but are often snapped up by multi-billion dollar corporations to help protect their own systems and counter notorious hackers. Many companies, including Microsoft, Sony and IBM pay vast amounts to keep professional hackers on their books, some as young as 12 or 13.
While there is no doubt that this young Northern Irish boy, if found guilty, will face severe punishment, being that he stole four million customers’ private financial details. But once the furore dies down, his hacking prowess will undoubtedly be the subject of some enquiries from large-scale corporations.
The financial information stolen via the hack is not thought to be detailed enough for anybody to access bank accounts, however it is data which, if made commercially available could lead to fraudulent phone calls with criminals posing as financial institutions. It doesn’t take a huge success rate to make these types of calls hugely profitable, and Talk Talk customers are being encouraged to be extra vigilant if contacted by any persons claiming to represent their bank.
Talk Talk Ransom
A ransom note was initially received by Talk Talk, asking for money in return for the safe transfer of the data stolen, however Police swiftly moved in on a target in NI soon after. It was at first thought that a notorious Russian Islamist hacking group may be responsible, after data from the hack appeared on the website Pastebin, along with the bizarrely worded statement:
“We Have Made Our Tracks Untraceable Through Onion Routing, Encrypted Chat Messages, Private Key Emails, Hacked Servers. We Will Teach our Children To Use The Web For Allah, Your Hands Will Be Covered In Blood, Judgement Day Is Soon.”
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