A 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to offenses
relating to 2015’s TalkTalk cyberattack has had his iPhone confiscated and
been sentenced to a 12-month rehabilitation order.
The teenager also had his laptop and hard
drive taken away, an order that was decided by Norwich Youth Court in the UK.
The sentence, made on December 13th, followed a hearing into the data breach, where the boy owned up to his
transgression and told magistrates: “I was just showing off to my mates”.
“Your IT skills will always
be there – just use them legally in the future.”
Speaking to the youngster, who cannot be named
because of his age, Jean Bonnick, chairman of the bench chairman, said:
“Your IT skills will always be there – just use them legally in the future.”
The attack, which happened on October 21st last year,
cost the telecom group £42 million.
The outcome saw personal data of over 150,000
customers accessed. Of this, 15,000 people had their financial information
compromised.
The boy was charged with seven offenses, two of
which were related to the TalkTalk cyberattack.
Investigators also found that he had been targeting
other websites, including those belonging to Cambridge University and
Manchester University.
Speaking to the court last month, he said of his
crimes: “It was a passion – not anymore. I won’t let it happen again. I have
grown up.”
The age of the cybercriminal highlights how young
fraudsters can be. Statistics released by the UK’s National Crime Agency
earlier in the year showed that the average cybercriminal is now just 17,
compared to in 2015 when it was 24.
Speaking after the attack in 2015, TalkTalk’s CEO,
Dido Harding, described cybercrime as “the crime of our generation”.