Suspect in Devastating Christmas Hack of PlayStation Network Arrested

A man from the United Kingdom has been arrested for his role in the cyber attacks that crippled Sony's PlayStation Network over the Christmas holiday.

Bloomberg reports the suspect is an 18-year-old who hails from the northwest England city of Southport. The suspect was nabbed in a joint investigation between UK authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The suspect faces charges related to hacking and making death threats.

Over the Christmas holiday, a group calling itself Lizard Squad brought down both the PlayStation and Xbox online networks. Both were down for the majority of users for at least a day, including Christmas day itself, with Xbox coming back online before PlayStation a few days after.

It is unclear if the apprehended suspect is a member of the Lizard Squad or involved with the group.

The hack infuriated gamers because they had either received new consoles and games they wished to play, or had a chunk of time off from work or school to which they could dedicate gaming.

The hack of the PlayStation network was another major embarrassment for Sony, whose movie division was hacked earlier in Dec. by a group calling itself Guardians of Peace. Guardians of Peace stole emails, credit card information, and even unreleased, complete versions of Sony films.

In addition to the security lapses, Sony was further humiliated by the hackers after they leaked private emails by Sony executives in which they made rude or disparaging comments about major Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Guardians of Peace demanded that Sony halt the release of its comedy film 'The Interview' which revolved around a frivolous plot to kill the leader of North Korea.

Because of this demand, many, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, originally thought North Korea was behind the hack, but that assertion has since been challenged by a number of private computer security experts.