A 16-year-old boy in Britain has been arrested on
criminal charges related to the alleged hacking of email accounts used by CIA
director John Brennan and other US officials, according to US and British
sources familiar with the investigation.
A spokesman for Britain's Thames Valley Police said
that on Tuesday, a regional organised crime squad had arrested the unnamed
youth in England's East Midlands on 'suspicion of conspiracy to commit
unauthorised access to computer material' and related offences.
The police statement did not identify the youth but
said that he had been released on bail until June 6.
The police statement also did not identify the
targets of any of the arrested youth's alleged hack attacks.
However sources on both sides of the Atlantic
familiar with the case said that the arrested hacker was believed to have been
involved in the hacking of Brennan's private email account.
He also reportedly may have been involved in the
hacking of other US officials and posting of names and contact information for
thousands of FBI and US Homeland Security Department (DHS) employees.
The website Motherboard reported on Friday that
investigators suspected the arrested youth posed online as a hacker known as
'Cracka' who led a group called 'Crackas With Attitude.'
Motherboard reported that it had spoken to the
teenager on Wednesday, who denied being 'Cracka' but acknowledged that he had
been accused by UK authorities of hacking Brennan, White House officials, and a
purported hack on the Department of Justice which resulted in the publication
of basic contact information on an estimated 30,000 FBI and DHS workers.
Credit:Reuters
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