A British man has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into a series of DDoS attacks against Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network over the festive season, following another arrest made last month.

The 18-year-old man is believed to be a member of the group behind the attacks, 'Lizard Squad', and he was arrested this morning in Southport, United Kingdom by officers from the Cyber Crime Unit of the UK's South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU). Police also confiscated "a number of electronic and digital devices" during the arrest, as part of their investigation.

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The man has been arrested "on suspicion of unauthorised access to computer material contrary to section 1 of Computer Misuse Act 1990, unauthorised access with intent to commit further offenses contrary to section 2 of Computer Misuse Act 1990 and threats to kill contrary to Section 16 of Offenses against the person Act 1861."

The offenses also cover so-called 'swatting' activities, in which individuals or groups provide false information to law enforcement agencies, in order to prompt an armed response unit to be sent to a person's house.

SEROCU has been working with the National Cyber Crime Unit, the North West Regional Organized Crime Unit, and with FBI teams in the US, on its investigation into Lizard Squad. Craig Jones, head of the SEROCU Cyber Crime Unit, said today that "this investigation is a good example of of joint law enforcement cooperation in relation to a type of criminality that is not restricted by any geographical boundaries."

However, he added: "We are still at the early stages of the investigation and there is still much work to be done. We will continue to work closely with the FBI to identify those who commit offences and hold them to account."

Source: SEROCU