Teenager arrested over 'cyber attack' on web game

A teenager was arrested today in connection with an alleged cyber attack on a top online computer game, Scotland Yard said.

The 17-year-old was detained at his home in Manchester earlier today by the Metropolitan Police's e-Crime Unit, a spokesman said.

The youth was being questioned in connection with an alleged "denial of service" attack on the online game Call Of Duty.

The game's publishers, Activision, alerted police in September after the site was attacked by a programme called Phenom Booter, the Met said in a statement.

The disruption to the service left thousands of gamers unable to take part for several hours.

The teenager, arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act, remains in police custody for questioning.

Officers said they established the attack server was hosted in the UK and further investigation traced the IP address to the Greater Manchester area.

Detective Inspector Paul Hoare, of Scotland Yard's e-Crime Unit, said: "Online gaming is a major retail sector with millions of titles being sold in the run-up to Christmas worldwide.

"Programmes marketed in order to disrupt the online infrastructure not only affect individual players but have commercial and reputational consequences for the companies concerned.

"These games attract both children and young people to the online environment and this type of crime can often be the precursor to further offending in more traditional areas of online crime."

The Call Of Duty franchise is among the biggest brands in the gaming industry.