Teenager arrested over cyberattack on Transport for London

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – A teenager has been arrested in the UK as part of the investigation into a cybersecurity incident affecting Transport for London (TfL), officials said on Thursday.

The 17-year-old boy was detained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences in connection with the cyberattack on TfL on Sept. 1, the NCA said in a statement.

The national law enforcement agency noted that it is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre and TfL to manage the incident and minimize risks.

The teen, who was arrested on Sept. 5, was questioned by NCA officers and then released.

"Attacks on public infrastructure such as this can be hugely disruptive and lead to severe consequences for local communities and national systems," said Deputy Director Paul Foster of the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit in a statement.

He added: "The swift response by TfL following the incident has enabled us to act quickly, and we are grateful for their continued co-operation with our investigation, which remains ongoing."

In a separate statement on Thursday, TfL said they identified some suspicious activity on Sept. 1 and took action to limit access.

"Although there has been very little impact on our customers so far, the situation is evolving and our investigations have identified that certain customer data has been accessed," it noted.

TfL added that the data breach includes some customer names and contact details, such as email addresses and home addresses if provided.