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Police arrest 15-year-old in Northern Ireland over TalkTalk hack

Posted On: Oct. 26, 2015 12:00 AM CST

(Reuters) — Police arrested a 15-year-old boy in Northern Ireland on Monday over a cyber attack on British broadband provider TalkTalk that may have led to the theft of data from its more than 4 million customers.

The company has said the Oct. 21 attack, for which it received a ransom demand on Friday, was not as serious as first feared, and it did not believe those behind the attack would be able to steal money from its customers.

“A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offenses. He has been taken into custody at a County Antrim police station where he will later be interviewed,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The police said they were searching an address in Northern Ireland in connection with the arrest.

A spokeswoman for TalkTalk said the company had been informed of the arrest.

“We are grateful for the swift response and hard work of the police. We will continue to assist in the ongoing investigation,” she said in a statement.