Six people in the UK have been arrested for using Lizard Squad’s infamous DDoS tool, Lizard Stresser. Operation Vivarium, co-ordinated by the National Crime Agency (NCA), was a nationwide initiative involving numerous police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) across the UK. It is estimated that 30% of UK businesses suffered DDoS attacks last year.

According to the NCA website, the following suspects, all male and aged 18 or under, were arrested:

A 17 year-old male from Manchester had computer equipment seized and was interviewed under caution by the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU) on 27 August.

A 18 year-old-male from Huddersfield arrested and bailed on 27 August by Yorkshire and Humberside police.

A 18 year-old-male from Milton Keynes interviewed under caution by the South East ROCU on 26 August.

A 18 year-old male from Manchester arrested and bailed by North West ROCU and Greater Manchester Police on 26 August.

A 16 year-old male from Northampton arrested and bailed by East Midlands ROCU on 26 August.

A 15 year-old male from Stockport arrested by the North West ROCU and Greater Manchester Police on 24 August.

This follows two other arrests earlier this year:

A 17 year-old male from Cardiff arrested and bailed by South Wales ROCU and NCCU on 16 April.

A 17 year-old male from Northolt arrested and bailed by the Metropolitan Police on 03 March.

“By paying a comparatively small fee, tools like Lizard Stresser can cripple businesses financially and deprive people of access to important information and public services, Tony Adams, Head of Investigations at the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said. “This multi-agency operation illustrates the commitment of the NCA and its partners to pursuing people who think they can criminally disrupt important public services or legitimate businesses.”

“One of our key priorities is to engage with those on the fringes of cyber criminality, to help them understand the consequences of cyber crime and how they can channel their abilities into productive and lucrative legitimate careers,” he added.

Thank you National Crime Agency for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Forbes.