Oxford teen arrested in UK on suspicion of hacking

UK police arrested a 17-year-old teenager in Oxfordshire last night on suspicion of hacking.

The boy, who has not been named, was arrested as part of an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA). He remains in police custody.

Although at the time of writing no more details have been shared, there is speculation online that the arrest is in relation to the recent hacks of Uber and Rockstar Games.

The hacks made headlines around the world, with source code and internal videos of a forthcoming version of Rockstar’s “Grand Theft Auto” video game franchise leaking online.

As we described on the latest “Smashing Security” podcast, Uber said it believed that it had been hacked by the notorious LAPSUS$ group.

Earlier this year, UK police arrested seven people after hacks against firms such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, Ubisoft, Samsung, and Okta. All of the hacks, like those against Uber and Rockstar Games, were linked to the LAPSUS$ group.

At the time, the father of one of those arrested (who happened to live in Oxford) said that he hoped to convince his teenage son to stop using computers.

The FBI has requested the public’s assistance in identifying anybody connected with the LAPSUS$ group.

Update: Teen hacking suspect charged with computer use and breach of bail conditions

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and is the co-host of the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.