The suspected leader of the hacking group LulzSec has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) in the UK, reports suggest.
According to The Next Web, a statement was released by the PCeU, claiming that a 19-year-old was arrested, whom officers suspect was involved with a “pre-planned intelligence-led operation.”
The arrest, made in co-operation with the FBI, was in relation to “network intrusions and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group,” which could relate to LulzSec’s hacks of the CIA website and the US Senate.
The unidentified teenager was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences. He is now in custody at a central London police station for questioning.
Channel 4 news tweeted that the 19-year-old, who was arrested in Essex, is the “mastermind” of LulzSec but this not been confirmed.
The group today claimed it had taken data from the entire 2011 UK census and said it would release it on its website.
The UK Office of National Statistics said it was investigating the issue, but saw no evidence of a breach.
UPDATE: LulzSec has denied that it has hacked the 2011 UK Census.
