Officials in the United Kingdom have reportedly arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of involvement in the Christmas Day Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox network hacking.
A visitor plays on Sony Playstation 4 video game console (PS4), produced by Sony Corp during the 'Noel de Geek' at the Cite des Sciences et de l'industrie on December 23, 2014 in Paris, France. 'Noel de Geek' takes place from December 23, 2014 till January 04, 2015. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
The suspect, who has not yet been publicly identified, is accused of unauthorized access to computer material and knowingly providing false information to law enforcement agencies, the BBC reported. The investigation that led to the arrest was jointly conducted by both the FBI and the U.K.'s National Cyber Crime Unit.
"We are still at the early stages of the investigation and there is still much work to be done. We will continue to work closely with the FBI to identify those who commit offenses and hold them to account," Craig Jones, head of the South East Regional Organi[z]ed Crime Unit in the U.K., said.
The man who police arrested was allegedly involved in the December 25 cyberattack on both Sony's Playstation gaming network as well as Microsoft's Xbox gaming network. The attack caused widespread disruptions to users at one of the busiest times of the year by intentionally flooding the companies' servers to try to make them stop working.
"This is a significant arrest... of a UK citizen suspected of engaging in serious and organi[z]ed cybercrime on the national and international stage," Peter Goodman, a spokesman at the Association of Police Officers said.
Goodman added that the arrest demonstrates that authorities will pursue those who commit crimes from within their own homes or by hiding behind anonymous online personas.
(H/T: BBC)
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