Relating to the recent outages of both Microsoft‘s and Sony’s servers over the Christmas break, suspected Lizard Squad members (the hacker group which claims responsibility for the server shutdowns) are currently under investigation by both British and Finnish authorities.
A 22-year-old was arrested on Monday, December 29 after his home was raided by the South East Regional Organized Crime Unit arm of the British police. The suspect confirmed the raid to the Daily Dot via email with a photo of the official search warrant.
The suspect then described how the raid unfolded, saying that the police “took everything,” including his “ Xbox one, phones, laptops, computer USBs, etc.” According to a press release that was posted thereafter, the young man was arrested “on suspicion of fraud by false representation and Computer Misuse Act offense,” with relation to an ongoing investigation in cyber fraud offences.
The suspect has since been bailed until Tuesday, March 10. According to him, there were no charges pressed, just “alleged charges.” At the time of the bail, the 22-year-old added that he’ll “know more when the forensics team gets info.”
Finnish police have also interviewed a teenager claiming to be affiliated with Lizard Squad. The 17-year-old was questioned earlier on this week after notifying British media that he was a part of the hacker group. He was then released shortly after.
According to Yle, despite what other reports have said, the young suspect was not detained or arrested. Lizard Squad tweeted that he was, but chief inspector of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)–Tero Muurman–confirmed that reports saying the 17-year-old had been detained were “wide of the mark.”
The investigation is reportedly in its early stages, according to Muurman, and the teenager been has suspected of aggravated data crimes. The 17-year-old denied involvement, however. Finnish police are continuing their investigation while also cooperating with the FBI.
[ Source(s): Daily Dot / Thames Valley Police / Yle ]