Essex Teen Arrested In FBI Global Hacking Probe

The arrest of the 19-year-old - named locally as Ryan Cleary - comes just days after the group claimed it brought down the US Central Intelligence Agency's website .

The alleged hack on CIA.gov occurred on the same day Lulz Security opened a telephone request line so its fans could suggest potential targets.

On Twitter, the group wrote: "Tango down - CIA.gov - for the lulz".

There have been no tweets on the group's page since Mr Cleary's arrest.

The FBI and Scotland Yard launched an investigation immediately and detectives from the force's e-crime unit swooped on the teen's home in Wickford, Essex, on Monday.

LulzSec has risen to prominence in recent months, claiming credit for attacks on Sony and Nintendo, as well as the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency, the public-facing site of the US Senate and the CIA.

Sky's home affairs correspondent Mark White said if the teen is found to be involved, he could be extradited to America to face trial.

Police are questioning Mr Leary under the Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said searches at his residential address following his arrest led to "the examination of a significant amount of material".

He added: "The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and distributed denial of service attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group."

The Met and Essex Police are working "in cooperation" with the FBI, the spokesman said.

Mr Leary remains in custody at a central London police station.

Sky sources say he has mental health issues, prompting comparisons with Gary McKinnon.

McKinnon, 45, who is wanted in the US, faces 60 years behind bars for hacking into Pentagon and Nasa computers between February 2001 and March 2002 while searching for evidence of "little green men".

There has been a long-running campaign for Mr McKinnon to be allowed to remain in the UK following warnings from medical experts that he could kill himself if sent to the US to face trial. Sky News