A teenager from Southport, Merseyside has been arrested in a joint British and FBI operation following cyber-attacks on Sony and X-box systems last year.
Sky News reports that he has been arrested on suspicion of unauthorised access to computer material, as well as a threat to kill.
Investigators also say that he is suspected of “swatting”, an offence where an individual provides false details to US security agencies, causing a terror alert.
Craig Jones, head of cyber crime at the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, said:
“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 offences and hold them to account.
“Offences referred to as ‘swatting’ involve law enforcement forces in the United States receiving hoax calls via Skype for a major incident in which Swat teams were dispatched.
“We are pursuing cyber criminals using the latest technology and working with businesses and academia to further develop specialist investigative capabilities to protect and reduce the risk to the public. Cyber crime is an issue which has no boundaries and affects people on a local, regional and global level.”
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