Hacking: fifth person arrested over TalkTalk cyber-attack

Police have arrested a fifth person over the alleged data theft from TalkTalk in October. The 18-year-old from Llanelli, south Wales, was taken into custody on 24 November following a police raid on a property. The teenager was being held on suspicion of blackmail at the Dyfed Powys police station.

The other four arrests - all on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences - include a 15-year-old boy from County Antrim, two 16-year-old boys from London and Norwich and a 20-year-old man from Staffordshire. All four were released on bail. The fifth arrest and search of the property was carried out by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Cyber Crime Unit (MPCCU), which is leading the investigation and the Southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit.

During the October hack, TalkTalk said hackers had attained access to 1.2 million addresses, phone numbers and names as well as the bank account details of 21,000 customers. The company said the breach was "significantly less than originally suspected" after original concerns that information relating to millions of customers may have been stolen.