Four arrested in the Netherlands in FBI cyber attack probe

Four people have been arrested in the Netherlands as part of an FBI-led investigation into computer hacking, according to US media reports.


Sixteen people have been picked up in the US and one, aged 16, in Britain, the reports say.
Fourteen of the US arrests related to an online attack on the PayPal internet payment site in December, which was claimed by the hackers group Anonymous.
According to Dutch media reports, the four people picked up in the Netherlands are also said to be involved in Anonymous. Anonymous led attacks on PayPal, Visa and Mastercard for refusing to accept donations to the website Wikileaks.
As yet, there is no more information about the four Dutch people who have been arrested.

Teenager

In December, a 16-year-old youth was arrested in the Netherlands in connection with the attacks on Mastercard and Visa.
According to the Telegraaf, the hackers had used a server in Haarlem to launch the attack.
The public prosecution department said at the time it is likely the boy was part of a larger group of hackers and the investigation into the attacks was continuing.
According to website Tweakers, the youth was one of the operators of the internet relay chat channel in which sympathisers prepared the way for the cyber attacks. It said at least one other Dutch hacker was involved in the attack on Mastercard.

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