A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in reference to the cyber safety incident affecting Transport for London (TfL), the Nationwide Crime Company (NCA) stated.
TfL stated that about 5,000 prospects’ type codes and checking account particulars may have been accessed by hackers amid an “ongoing cyber safety incident”.
The NCA stated {the teenager} was arrested in Walsall, West Midlands, on 5 September, after the cyber assault started 4 days earlier.
TfL stated information together with names, emails and residential addresses had been accessed.
‘Vastly disruptive’
The NCA stated {the teenager} was arrested on suspicion of Pc Misuse Act offences.
He was questioned by NCA officers and has since been bailed.
The NCA stated it was working with TfL and the Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre (NCSC) to minimise the chance to prospects.
Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s Nationwide Cyber Crime Unit, stated: “Assaults on public infrastructure reminiscent of this may be vastly disruptive and result in extreme penalties for native communities and nationwide methods.”
He added: “We have now been working at tempo to help Transport for London following a cyber assault on their community, and to establish the legal actors accountable.
“The swift response by TfL following the incident has enabled us to behave shortly, and we’re grateful for his or her continued co-operation with our investigation, which stays ongoing.”
TfL’s chief expertise officer Shashi Verma stated the shoppers who had been affected can be contacted instantly.
He added that an investigation into the cyber assault was going down alongside the NCA and the NCSC.
‘Refund information’
“Though there was little or no influence on our prospects to this point, the scenario continues to evolve and our investigations have recognized that sure buyer information has been accessed,” he stated.
“This contains some buyer names and speak to particulars, together with electronic mail addresses and residential addresses the place offered.
“Some Oyster card refund information may additionally have been accessed. This might embody checking account numbers and kind codes for a restricted variety of prospects.
“As a precautionary measure, we shall be contacting these prospects instantly as quickly as attainable to advise them of the help we will present and the steps they will take.”
Mr Verma added that the “safety” of its methods and buyer information had been “crucial” to TfL.
“We regularly monitor who’s accessing our methods to make sure solely these authorised can acquire entry,” he stated.
“We are going to proceed to maintain our prospects and our employees up to date.
“I want to apologise for the inconvenience this incident could trigger prospects and I thank everybody for his or her persistence as we reply to this incident.”
The NCSC is urging anybody who thinks they might have been the sufferer of a knowledge breach to be vigilant about suspicious emails, telephone calls or textual content messages.