Seattle cyber attacker arrested after hits on Aussie businesses

A 37-year-old Seattle man has been arrested in connection with serious offences relating to distributed denial of service attacks that hit Australian businesses in 2015.

His arrest on Wednesday in his hometown in Washington, is the result of a two and a half year investigation between the Australian Federal Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Toronto Police Department.

The joint investigation was established after a number of organisations in the US, Canada and Australia received DDoS attacks and contact from an individual making “certain demands of the companies” police said.

The Iranian born US citizen was arrested under warrant in Seattle by the FBI in relation to cyber offences in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“This is a timely reminder to cyber-criminals that international law enforcement is a team sport. Our ability and willingness to work together at a distance and across borders has never been greater,” said AFP manager cyber crime operations, Commander David McLean.

The AFP said the successful outcome of the long running investigation was testament to the close working relationships in maintains with overseas law enforcement agencies.

“I would like to thank our international partners for their cooperation as well as for their patience and persistence in bringing about this result. I would also like to acknowledge the companies who were victims of the attacks for their ongoing cooperation,” McLean added.

The man has been detained in custody after appearing in the United States District Court for the State of Washington in Seattle.