The Metropolitan Police have arrested two teenagers over their alleged involvement in hacked conversations on an anti-terrorist hotline.
Hacker group TeamPoison claimed it had snooped on conversations on the sensitive hotline, and posted recordings of the calls on the web.
One of the recordings appears to reveal police and call centre staff discussing a series of prank and time-wasting calls from the group, and police have moved swiftly.
“Two males – aged 17 years and 16 years – have this evening been arrested in connection with the Police Central e-Crime Unit’s investigation into calls made to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline, and recordings made of conversations,” the police said in a statement.
The public can remain confident in the ability to communicate in confidence and that the integrity of the Anti-Terrorist Hotline remains in place
“They are both currently in police custody in the West Midlands.”
According to the police, the teenagers were arrested on suspicion of breaches of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 2006. They were also being questioned regarding an unrelated incident that had already been under investigation by the PceU.
In its messages, TeamPoison said it was taking the action in protest over detention policies, but it’s unclear how they made the recordings.
Initially, the police said the calls were recorded from the receiving handset, which would require no breach of its internal systems, but a later recording posted on YouTube appears to be of a conversation between two internal officials.
Scotland Yard officials said they were confident the system remained secure. “The public can remain confident in the ability to communicate in confidence and that the integrity of the Anti-Terrorist Hotline remains in place,” a spokesperson told the BBC.
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