UK man arrested in connection to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Christmas cyber attacks
Police have arrested a man connected to the Sony PlayStation Network and Xbox Live denial-of-service (DDoS) cyber attacks which crashed both systems over Christmas.
A group calling itself Lizard Squad took responsibility for the attack
Officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) have arrested an 18-year-old man from Southport in connection to the attack against the PlayStation Network and Xbox’s online service during the festive period.
The teenager is also being held under suspicion of “swatting” - reporting false threats to police in order to have SWAT units storm to a particular location to cause distress to its inhabitants. In this instance the perpetrator sent a hoax threat warning to US police via Skype.
SEROCU said the man is charged with "unauthorised access to computer material", "unauthorised access with intent to commit further offences" and "issuing threats to kill". Furthermore, his electronic gadgetry has been seized by police.
Craig Jones, head of the Cyber Crime Unit at SEROCU, said: “This investigation is a good example of joint law enforcement cooperation in relation to a type of criminality that is not restricted by any geographical boundaries.
“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 to who commit offences and hold them to account."
SEROCU is working with the National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU) and the FBI to crackdown on such DDoS attacks and other online crimes.
Both PlayStation and Xbox’s online services suffered from outages for days following the attack on Christmas Day.