SOUTHPORT , England, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old man was arrested Friday in Southport, England, in the investigation of Christmas attacks on Sony PlayStation and Xbox video systems.
The unidentified man was arrested in the Liverpool suburb and charged with unauthorized access to computer material, providing false information to U.S. law enforcement agencies and threats to kill. The alleged cybercrime stems from large numbers of denial-of-service messages received by PlayStation and Xbox users on Christmas Day, causing major disruptions, as well as "swatting" operations.
A "swatting" offense involves false alarms, sent by Skype software over the Internet, to U.S. law enforcement agencies, after which SWAT teams are dispatched.
A group calling itself "Lizard Squad" claimed responsibility for the attacks, but British police declined to comment on whether the arrested teen was a part of the group. The arrest came after a joint investigation by the FBI and Britain's South East Regional Organized Crime Unit (Serocu) Cyber Crime Forensic and eForensics Units.
"This is a significant arrest by the South East regional Cyber Crime Unit, supported by North West policing colleagues, of a UK citizen suspected of engaging in serious and organized cyber crime on the national and international stage. This arrest demonstrates that we will pursue those who commit crime with the false perception they are protected within their own homes or hiding behind anonymous online personas," said Detective Peter Goodman of Britain's Association of Police Officers.
