It seems that in total, five banks, two telecommunication firms, three airlines and one insurance company were hit, as their websites and online payment systems were disrupted by the
cyber-attack.
Now the unnamed, 17-year-old youth from Bergen in Norway has confessed to the crime and was arrested Thursday morning and taken for questioning by police.
The Norwegian newspaper, Bergens, quotes police chief, Frode Karlsen, as saying: "[The youth] is charged for causing malicious damage, but the charge could be extended. The maximum penalty for such a crime is six years."
According to police, they do not believe that the teenager was working with the organized group, Anonymous, although Karlssen did say, "He could have had help, but we don’t think that he is a part of an organized group. We do not have any proof of this right now."
According to police, the teenager contacted them on Tuesday, claiming he was part of an activist group behind the attack. The teen's lawyer, Christian Børve, told Bergens Tidende: "He is sorry for having caused this situation and my client has admitted his guilt."
There have reportedly been 16 serious incidents of cyber-attacks in Norway so far in 2014 and apparently last year, 51 cyber-attacks were recorded.
Danske Bank, DNB, NetCom, Nordea, Norges Bank, Norwegian, SAS, Sparebank 1, Storebrand, Telenor and Widerøe were the companies affected by the recent cyber-attack.
Norwegian sources:
Aftenbladet
Bergens Tidende
The Local
