Two teenagers arrested over cyber-attack on nursery chain

A cyberattack on a chain of nurseries in London has detained two 17-year-old boys, according to police. According to the Metropolitan Police, the pair were arrested at residential addresses in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, on suspicion of computer abuse and blackmail. Hackers reportedly took the photographs, names, and addresses of over 8,000 children from the Kido website. On September 25, the Force said it had received a referral from the Action Fraud cyber crime reporting service detailing a ransomware attack.

Those arrested remain in custody for questioning. Will Lyne, Met's Head of Economic and Cybercrime, said:

We know that reports of this kind may cause significant anxiety, particularly to those parents and carers who might be worried about the effects of such a traumatic event on their lives and families.

These arrests are a major step forward in our probe, but we're continuing to investigate and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

On September 22, hackers who identified themselves Radiant attempted to attract media interest in a data breach as part of their attempts to extort the nursery chain for about £600,000 in Bitcoin. The BBC did not announce a breach until hackers began posting photos and profiles of some of the children on their darknet website on September 25th, which cyber experts described as a new low in cybercrime. The stolen information included names, addresses, and photographs of children, as well as contact information for parents and caregivers. The hackers pressed parents to tell Kido that they were compelled to pay the ransom to have the information deleted. More children's pages were added, taking the total number to 20. In an unusual move, the hackers blurred the pictures as they were worried about their image with other hacker groups. On October 2nd, then deleted all of the stolen information and pictures from their darknet website, as well as claiming to have deleted all 8,000 children's's files.

No more remains, and this will be able to support parents,

the parents said.

We applaud this swift response from the Met Police and acknowledge that this is a significant step in the process of bringing those accountable to justice.

We have collaborated throughout this process with law enforcement and the relevant authorities. We're still committed to helping police and, particularly families, colleagues, and the wider Kido community. A 22-year-old man had been arrested, according to the Met Police, but has since confirmed that the age is 17.