Teenage hackers arrested for hit on UK police's anti-terror hotline

Hackers may have scored anew against police in the United Kingdom, accessing and recording anti-terrorism calls and posting the contents online, a tech site reported.

 

ZDNet reported UK police are now investigating how their anti-terror hotline was “hacked” following the uploading of the recorded call.

 

As of Friday afternoon (Manila time), however, The Hacker News said two members of hacker group TeamPoison were arrested for the phone hack.

 

It said the two, aged 16 and 17, were arrested as part of an investigation into illegal recordings of conversations on Scotland Yard’s anti-terror hotline.

 

"It is understood Team Poison used readily available software to bombard the Scotland Yard phone line, but routed the activity through a computer server based in Malaysia in order to cover their tracks," it said.

 

“We are aware of an issue whereby telephone conversations relating to the anti-terror hotline have been recorded,” ZDNet quoted a spokesperson for the London police as saying.

 

ZDNet said at least one conversation between anti-terrorism officers at Scotland Yard, home of the Metropolitan Police in London, was leaked online.

 

Scotland Yard runs the UK’s anti-terror hotline, which lets the public tip off authorities of potential terrorist activity. The information can be passed on to MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence agency, or local law enforcement.

 

“The leaked phone call was apparently posted by the person on the call. It is not believed to have been leaked by officers working on the anti-terror line,” ZDNet said.

 

In the call posted on YouTube, two people are heard discussing an earlier attempt where hackers jammed the hotline with computer-generated phone calls.

 

Notification sounds in the background indicate the call may have been made from Skype videoconferencing software.

 

“Ryan Cleary, the alleged LulzSec hacker who faces trial for hacking into a number of government websites, was mentioned on the call. Officers on the line were heard stifling a laugh, up until the point TeamPoison was mentioned,” ZDNet said.

 

TeamPoison behind leak?

 

ZDNet reported hackers from TeamPoison are thought to be behind the leak, as the group tweeted a link on Twitter to the video.

 

At one part of the call, a female officer on the line told the caller: “Your information and everything about what you’ve got is being passed to the FBI, and you will be prosecuted for your malicious communication,” before the call is terminated.

 

The call came a few months since hacktivist group Anonymous broke into a conference call between FBI agents and Scotland Yard officers, and posted the contents online. — TJD, GMA News