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Fourth arrest made over TalkTalk cyber attack

James Pearce
November 4, 2015

16 year old arrested in Norwich as MPs launch inquiry into cyber security following recent attacks on firms including TalkTalk and Vodafone

A 16 year old boy has become the fourth person arrested in connection with the TalkTalk cyber attack which occurred on October 23, police have said.

He was held on suspicion of committing offences under the Computer Misuse Act after police searched an address in Norwich as part of its investigation into the hack.

A 15 year old in Northern Ireland, a 16 year old in London and a 20 year old in Staffordshire have all been arrested and bailed in connection with the incident, which left over a million customer email addresses and around 21,000 customer bank details vulnerable.

The fourth arrest came after detectives from the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit and the National Crime Agency executed a search warrant on the Norwich address, the Met said. The 16 year old is currently in custody, it added.

MP Inquiry

The arrest comes on the same day that MPs have announced plans to hold an inquiry into cyber security following the attack on TalkTalk’s website.

The Committee for Culture Media and Sport said it will look at the circumstances around the TalkTalk breach and the wider implications for telecoms firms.

Vodafone became the latest company to be hit with a cyber attack last week when it admitted 2,000 customer accounts had been accessed without authorisation, though the mobile provider insisted its security measures had been “fundamentally effective.”

The Committee has said it will take submissions around the TalkTalk attack, the robustness of security measures put in place by Internet Service Providers and telecoms firms, the role of encryption, and likely future trends around hacking and cyber security, until November 23.

Chair of the Committee Jesse Norman MP, said: “The recent events have highlighted serious issues relating both to existing cyber-security and the response to cyber-crime.

“This Committee is concerned with the attacks on TalkTalk specifically as a telecoms and internet service provider, but with the recent move of the Information Commissioner’s Office to DCMS, we will also be looking more widely at the security of personal information online.”

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