TalkTalk’s cyber attacker bailed

A 15-year-old boy arrested in connection to a massive cyber attack on telecoms company TalkTalk in Northern Ireland has been released on bail, police said on Tuesday.

The boy was arrested on Monday in connection to an attack on one of Britain´s biggest telecommunication services, and may have led to personal data theft from more than 4 million customers registered with the firm.

According to a Reuters photographer, police searched the boy´s home – a small terraced property on a housing estate – and arrested the boy on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act charges.

Northern Ireland police have said in a statement, “A 15-year-old youth, arrested in County Antrim yesterday as part of the investigation into the alleged theft of data from the firm TalkTalk, has been released on bail pending further enquiries.”

TalkTalk´s stock shares have stood to benefit from the news as stock was up by 14 per cent Tuesday early afternoon.

The company took a hardline approach to customers that wanted to end their contracts without paying a penalty fee. The firm told customers, unless they could prove that money had been stolen as a result of hacking, they would have to pay to leave their contract early.

On late Monday, the company said, “In the unlikely event that money is stolen from a customer’s bank account as a direct result of the cyber attack (rather than as a result of any other information given out by a customer) then as a gesture of goodwill, on a case-by-case basis, we will waive termination fees.”

The attack prompts questions on the company´s security strength, as this was its third incident this year.