Brit Allegedly Extracted Data from Pentagon Satellite System

A young man residing in West Midlands, U.K. allegedly broke into an international satellite messaging system the U.S. military uses to communicate with personnel globally.

Police arrested the 23-year-old unnamed man on Wednesday.

The data affected was “non-confidential” contact information for about 800 people, according to a U.K. government statement. Specifically, the information includes name, title, e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

But the cache also contained identification numbers for about 34,400 mobile devices.

“No sensitive data was obtained and none of the data obtained could be used as personally identifiable information or compromise U.S. national security interests,” British officials said.

The system breached allows Defense Department officials to communicate via email or phone.

The suspect – purportedly affiliated with the Lizard Squad hacking group -- published screenshots of an online application used to control the database.  The individual also posted the following message on the file-sharing website Pastebin:

“We smite the Lizards, LizardSquad your time is near. We’re in your bases, we control your satellites. The missiles shall rein upon thy who claim alliance, watch your heads, ** T-47:59:59 until lift off. We're one, we're many, we lurk in the dark, we're everywhere and anywhere. Live Free Die Hard! DoD, DISA EMSS : Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services is not all, Department of Defense has no Defenses.”

Jeffrey Thorpe, a special agent with the U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service, said in a statement:

"This arrest underscores DCIS commitment and the joint ongoing efforts among international law enforcement to stop cyber criminals in their tracks, DCIS special agents will use every tool at their disposal to pursue and bring to justice those that attack the Department of Defense."