British authorities have arrested a 23-year-old man over a hacking attack on the US Department of Defense, one of 56 people detained in a week-long crackdown on cyber-crime, officials said Friday.
The man, from near Birmingham in central England, is suspected of involvement in a breach of the Pentagon network on June 15, 2014, when hackers obtained email addresses and phone numbers of about 800 people, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
They also took information for about 34,400 devices used by the department to communicate with employees via email or phone around the world, although the NCA said no sensitive data was obtained.
Afterwards, the hacker is said to have posted a message online apparently condemning the group Lizard Squad, which has claimed attacks on Microsoft and Sony.
“We smite the Lizards, LizardSquad your time is near. We’re in your bases, we control your satellites,” it said, adding: “Department of Defense has no Defenses.”
Jeffrey Thorpe of the Pentagon’s criminal investigative service (DCIS) said the arrest “underscores DCIS commitment and the joint ongoing efforts among international law enforcement to stop cyber criminals in their tracks”.
“DCIS special agents will use every tool at their disposal to pursue and bring to justice those that attack the Department of Defense,” he said, according to a statement from the NCA.
The arrest took place on March 4, one of more than 20 separate NCA-led operations across Britain this week.
Among those held was a 16-year-old boy from Leeds, northern England, accused of carrying out hundreds of cyber-attacks on businesses, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
