Detectives from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) have executed two warrants in Lincolnshire and Bracknell and arrested two men this morning (22/6) for conspiracy to gain unauthorised access to the Microsoft network.
A 22-year-old man from Lincolnshire was arrested on suspicion of gaining unauthorised access to a computer.
A 25-year-old man from Bracknell was arrested under computer misuse act offences.
The investigation relates to unauthorised intrusion into networks belonging to Microsoft.
Det Sgt Rob Bryant from SEROCU’s Cyber Crime Unit, which led the UK warrants, said: “We are working closely with our colleagues in EMSOU (East Midlands Special Operations Unit), Microsoft’s cyber team, the FBI, EUROPOL and the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU) to investigate these offences.
“This group is spread around the world and therefore the investigation is being coordinated with our various partners. We’ve made two arrests in the UK this morning and have seized a number of devices.
“We are still in the early stages of this investigation and will work with our partners to ensure that cyber criminals have no place to hide.
“It is too early to speculate on what information the group have accessed, however, after speaking with Microsoft we can confirm they did not gain access to customer information. The offences took place between January 2017 to March 2017.”
The two men arrested currently remain in police custody.
SOURCE: Southeast Regional Organised Crime Unit