UK arrests teenager for London Tube hacking

Law enforcement officials in the UK have arrested a teenager in connection with a cyberattack earlier this month on London’s metro system.

A 17-year-old boy was detained for suspected violations of the Computer Misuse Act in connection with a 1 September attack on Transport for London, the National Crime Agency said in a statement on Thursday.

The suspect was arrested on 5 September and later released on bail, the agency added.

The cyberattack on Transport for London, which oversees Europe’s largest metro system, exposed some customer data, the transit agency said in a separate statement on Thursday.

This includes home and email addresses, and potentially bank account numbers, for some 5,000 users who had previously processed refunds on their “Oyster” transport cards.  

Transport for London, or TfL, pledged in its statement to contact customers whose personal data it believes was exposed.

In the meantime, while the investigation continues, TfL warned that it has moved to “limit access” to its network by suspending live Tube arrival information on some digital channels, along with applications for new Oyster photo cards.

The agency is also currently unable to issue refunds for incomplete pay-as-you-go trips, it added.