U.K. police arrested a 19-year-old on Monday for allegedly attacking a police Web site earlier in the day, in what is the first arrest connected with the rogue hacking group Lulz Security.
The Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) said the teenager was detained following an investigation into network intrusions and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against "a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group."
Police did not release more details in the statement or name the hacking group, but a Scotland Yard spokesman said Monday afternoon that the arrest was connected with the DDoS attacks on Monday on the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), a national police unit that tackles organized crime. The arrest was characterized as a "pre-planned, intelligence-led operation," the statement said.
On Monday, Lulz Security took credit for the SOCA attacks: "Tango down -- soca.gov.uk -- in the name of #AntiSec," the group said on its Twitter account.
Later on Monday, Lulz posted a message on Twitter acknowledging the arrest: "Seems the glorious leader of LulzSec got arrested, it's all over now ... wait ... we're all still here! Which poor bastard did they take down?"
In a further post Monday, Lulz appeared to acknowledge some association with the arrested man: "The Lulz Boat Clearly the UK police are so desperate to catch us that they've gone and arrested someone who is, at best, mildly associated with us. Lame."
Lulz Security has led an intensive hacking campaign over the last several weeks, attacking websites belonging to the CIA, PBS.org, Fox.com and when possible, stealing data such as passwords and logins and then releasing the information on its website.
The DDoS attacks against the SOCA website stopped after the arrest, the spokesman said. Since the arrest, police have been examining material seized from a residence in Wickford, Essex, to the east of London.
The teenager, who is still in custody, could face charges under the Computer Misuse Act and fraud-related offenses.
(Additional reporting by Grant Gross in Washington, D.C.)
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