Teen charged over online attacks

A teenage boy was yesterday charged over online attacks by the international hacking gang Anonymous.

The 17-year-old, from Chester, will appear before magistrates next month accused of conspiracy to do an unauthorised act in relation to a computer, Scotland Yard said. He has been granted bail to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 7 September.

British student Peter David Gibson, 22, from Hartlepool, will also face the court on that date charged with the same offence.

A number of hacking groups have claimed responsibility for distributing denial of service attacks on major companies, where websites are flooded with traffic to make them crash.