Shetland teenager held in hacking probe

A 18-YEAR old man has been arrested in Shetland by a specialist crime unit from the Metropolitan Police, on Wednesday.

The man arrested is believed to be linked to an ongoing international investigation in to the criminal activity of the so-called “hacktivist” groups Anonymous and LulzSec, and uses the online nickname “Topiary” which is presented as the spokesperson for the groups.

Officers from the Met’s Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) were in the isles to carry out what was described as “a pre-planned intelligence-led operation”.

Northern Constabulary in Lerwick said they were not in a position to comment on the case.

A spokesman for the Met said on Wednesday night: “He was arrested at a residential address in the Shetland Islands and is currently being transported to a police station in central London. A search is ongoing at the address.”

Meanwhile, a residential address in Lincolnshire has also been searched, and a 17-year-old male is being interviewed under caution in connection with the inquiry. He has not been arrested.

The Met spokesman said: “Today’s operation is linked to PCeU’s ongoing 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.”

It was carried out with the assistance of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) and Lincolnshire Constabulary.