Teen TalkTalk Hacker Out On Bail

The 15-year-old boy who was recently arrested over the TalkTalk hack was bailed, The Guardian found out on Tuesday.

According to the Scotland Yard, the 15-year-old was freed on bail pending further inquiries. He was arrested on Monday afternoon in his home in the Ballymena area of North Antrim.

He has been arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences and was questioned by detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The attack on TalkTalk was described by the company as “significant and sustained” and involved the potential theft of personal data from the broadband supplier’s four million UK customers.

The industry has not reacted well to news of the breach – TalkTalk’s third in the past 12 months – with various business leaders calling for action to tackle cyber crime and MPs vowing to launch an inquiry into the attack.

But the bad news doesn’t end there for TalkTalk, as it is now facing a huge compensation bill which could be steep enough to put it out of business. According to a recent report in The Daily Star, customers affected could be in line for a payout up to £1,000.

Previous news reports indicated that the hackers asked for ransom. At this time it is unclear whether the person who was arrested, and the person who asked for ransom were the same individual, nor if the person asking the ransom committed the attack in the first place.

Initial reports also mentioned “Islamic cybermilitants”, saying hackers claimed to have done the attack “in the name of Allah”.