A UK teen arrested last week on cybercrime offences is thought to be responsible for hacking the email account of CIA director John Brennan last year.
The 16-year-old was arrested by officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, according to a statement.
It said the following:
“The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) can confirm we have arrested a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday in the East Midlands on suspicion of conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to computer material contrary to Section 1 Computer Misuse Act 1990, conspiracy to commit unauthorized access with intent to commit further offences contrary to Section 2 Computer Misuse Act 1990 and conspiracy to commit unauthorized acts with intent to impair, or with recklessness as to impairing operation of a computer contrary to Section 3 Computer Misuse Act 1990.”
Although there’s nothing official from the police, several media reports are claiming that the boy is being questioned in connection with a hacking incident in October which breached the emails and personal details of Brennan.
He’s said to have socially engineered call center workers at AOL parent company Verizon into resetting Brennan’s password, giving him access to the CIA boss’s emails and scores of sensitive attached documents.
One is said to have been a background security clearance form containing personal details such as Brennan’s address, birthday and social security number.
Law enforcers believe the boy is a hacker known as “Cracka” responsible for several big-name breaches as part of the group “Crackas with Attitude.”
It’s believed he/they were behind a recent attack on the federal government which exposed details on 29,000 employees including FBI and Department of Homeland Security staff.
Other alleged victims include FBI deputy director Mark Giuliano and his wife, and Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.
Initial reports from the New York Post in October last year claimed the individual behind the “Cracka” Twitter account - @phphax – was a US high school student.
The boy has been released on bail until June.