Boy, 17, behind massive TalkTalk data hack sentenced to 12-month rehabilitation order

A 17-year-old who admitted hacking offences linked to the TalkTalk data breach has been given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order.

The youth, who admitted seven offences related to the hacking in October 2015, also had his iPhone and computer hard drive confiscated at Norwich Youth Court.

While the boy did not exploit the information for monetary gain, the TalkTalk website was targeted more than 14,000 times after he exposed the vulnerability.

Personal data of 156,959 customers including names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and email addresses was said to have been accessed.

Telecoms giant TalkTalk said it fell victim to a "significant and sustained" attack on its website, the fallout of which cost it £42 million.

Following the breach, TalkTalk was also hit with a record £400,000 fine over security failings in relation to the attack.

The Information Commissioner's Office said the attack last October could have been prevented if TalkTalk had taken basic steps to protect customers' information.