TalkTalk cyber attack: Third person bailed over alleged data theft

The 20-year-old is the latest to be arrested over the security breach after two teenage boys were also questioned about the cyber attack
Shadowy: TalkTalk says it has been sent a note demanding a ransom after a cyber-hack of customers' details
Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
Jamie Bullen1 November 2015

Scotland Yard has revealed a third man arrested in connection with the cyber attack on telecoms giant TalkTalk has been released on bail.

On Saturday, a 20-year-old man from Staffordshire became the third person arrested over Computer Misuse offences after he was questioned in relation to the alleged data theft.

Two teenage boys, a 16-year-old from Feltham, west London and a 15-year-old from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, have previously been arrested.

The 16-year-old was held on Thursday following a search of his home and has been bailed to a date yet to be confirmed while the 15-year-old was bailed until a date in November.

The joint investigation is being carried out by officers from the Metropolitan Police's cyber crime unit, the Police Service of Northern Ireland's cyber crime centre and the National Crime Agency.

TalkTalk said the data hacked was "significantly less than originally suspected" with fewer than 21,000 unique bank account numbers and sort codes accessed after millions could have had their details stolen.

The attack on its website took place on October 21.

The company said fewer than 1.2 million customer email addresses, names and phone numbers were breached, along with fewer than 28,000 obscured credit and debit card details, and fewer than 15,000 customer dates of birth.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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