News
UK Man's Arrest Linked to DDoS Attacks on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live
posted on by Karen Ressler
A 22-year-old man was arrested in Twickenham, United Kingdom on Tuesday on charges of fraud and violations of the Computer Misuse Act going back to 2013. Independent security researcher Brian Krebs and The Daily Dot news site cite sources that link the arrest to Lizard Squad, the group that took responsibility for the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against Sony and Microsoft.
Thames Valley Police's official press release reports that the suspect was arrested for cyber fraud offenses, specifically for stealing money from PayPal accounts between 2013 and August 2014. The man was released on bail until March 10.
Independent security news website operator Brian Krebs posted a photograph of a bail notice to claim that the man's identity is Vinnie Omari, a security analyst and alleged member of Lizard Squad. The offenses listed on the document include "fraud by false representation," "conspire to steal from another," and "unauthorized computer access with intent to commit other offenses."
The Daily Dot posted a document it claims is the warrant to search Omari's home. The warrant was for electronic or physical evidence of PayPal fraud or the "hacking of the Playstation network and XBox Live systems over the Christmas period."
The DDoS attacks against Sony and Microsoft started on Christmas Day and made services on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles unavailable for about three days. Lizard Squad also began selling a service called "LizardStresser" that would allow others launch DDoS on other websites.
The PlayStation Network announced on Thursday that it will apply a five-day membership extension for PlayStation Plus members as compensation for the down time. The company will also offer a code to all PlayStation Network members for 10 percent off a PlayStation Network purchase.
Sources: The Guardian (link 2)
Thanks to mdo7 for the news tip
