The City of London Police on Friday revealed that it has arrested a 17-year-old teenager from Oxfordshire on suspicion of hacking.
“On the evening of Thursday 22 September 2022, the City of London Police arrested a 17-year-old in Oxfordshire on suspicion of hacking,” the agency said, adding “he remains in police custody.”
The department said the arrest was made as part of an investigation in partnership with the U.K. National Crime Agency’s cyber crime unit.
No further details about the nature of the investigation were disclosed, although it’s suspected that the law enforcement action may have something to do with the recent string of high-profile hacks aimed at Uber and Rockstar Games.
Both the intrusions are alleged to have been committed by the same threat actor, who goes by the name Tea Pot (aka teapotuberhacker).
Uber, for its part, has pinned the breach on an attacker (or attackers) that it believes is associated with the LAPSUS$ extortion gang, two of whom are facing fraud charges.
According to cybersecurity company Flashpoint, the real world identity of the hacker behind the two incidents is said to have been outed on an online illicit forum.
“The administrator for that forum claimed that teapotuberhacker was the same individual who had allegedly hacked Microsoft and ‘owned’ Doxbin,” the company disclosed Friday.
This also means that the teapotuberhacker actor is likely the same party who is also known by the aliases White, Breachbase, and WhiteDoxbin and is believed to be “LAPSUS$’s apparent ringleader.”
It’s not immediately clear if these allegations hold water, but if true, could explain the latest arrest by law enforcement officials.