Japan Police Arrest Brazilian Teenager;Alleged Cybercrime
Copyright © 2003,
Dow Jones Newswires

TOKYO (AP)--Police on Friday arrested a Brazilian teenager for allegedly carrying out several computer break-ins that have been linked to the activities of an international hackers' group.

A Tokyo Metropolitan Police spokesman said the 17-year-old, who had been living in Otawara city, to the northeast of Japan's capital, told investigators he belonged to an eight-member hacking ring called the Cyberlords.

The group, whose other members allegedly operate from the U.S., Brazil and Portugal, are believed to be responsible for changing 1,032 Web sites in 33 countries, including the U.S., Taiwan, Netherlands and South Korea, the spokesman said.

After hacking into a site, members sign the group's name in English or Portuguese and leave a tally of their break-ins, he said.

The boy, whom police refused to identify, is suspected of using his computer at home to break into and write text onto the Web sites of a Tokyo computer company, a high school and Kyoto University Hospital.

Japanese police have been tracking the group's activities since March, when they received a tip from Interpol, the Paris-based international police organization, Kyodo news agency reported. South Korean authorities had provided information to Interpol.

-Edited by Genevieve I. Soledad

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 31, 2003 05:57 ET (10:57 GMT)


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