London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Lapsus$: Oxford teen accused of being multi-millionaire cyber-criminal

Lapsus$: Oxford teen accused of being multi-millionaire cyber-criminal

A 16-year-old from Oxford has been accused of being one of the leaders of cyber-crime gang Lapsus$.

The teenager, who is alleged to have amassed a $14m (£10.6m) fortune from hacking, has been named by rival hackers and researchers.

City of London Police say they have arrested seven teenagers in relation to the gang but will not say if he is one.

The boy's father told the BBC his family was concerned and was trying to keep him away from his computers.

Under his online moniker "White" or "Breachbase" the teenager, who has autism, is said to be behind the prolific Lapsus$ hacker crew, which is believed to be based in South America.

Lapsus$ is relatively new but has become one of the most talked about and feared hacker cyber-crime gangs, after successfully breaching major firms like Microsoft and then bragging about it online.

The teenager, who can't be named for legal reasons, attends a special educational school in Oxford.

City of London Police said: "Seven people between the ages of 16 and 21 have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a hacking group. They have all been released under investigation. Our inquiries remain ongoing."

Playing online games


The boy's father told the BBC: "I had never heard about any of this until recently. He's never talked about any hacking, but he is very good on computers and spends a lot of time on the computer. I always thought he was playing games."

Microsoft is one of the victims of the Lapsus$ hacking group


"We're going to try to stop him from going on computers."

The BBC has also spoken to the boy's mother, who did not want to comment.

'Doxxed' online


"White" was outed - or "doxxed" - on a hacker website, after an apparent falling out with business partners.

The hackers revealed his name, address, and social media pictures.

They also posted a biography of his hacking career, saying: "After a few years his net worth accumulated to well over 300BTC [close to $14m]… [he is] now is affiliated with a wannabe ransomware group known as 'Lapsus$', who has been extorting & 'hacking' several organisations."

As first reported by Bloomberg, cyber-security researchers have been tracking "White" for nearly a year and have linked him to Lapsus$ and other hacking incidents.

"We've had his name since the middle of last year and we identified him before the doxxing," said Allison Nixon, chief research officer at cyber-security investigation company Unit 221B.

"Unit 221B working with [cyber-security company] Palo Alto after identifying the actor, watched him on his exploits throughout 2021, periodically sending law enforcement a heads-up about the latest crimes."

Mrs Nixon says researchers tracked him through a trail of activity linked through a nearly unbroken stream of the boy's online accounts.

"We did it by watching the post history of an account and seeing older posts provide contact information for the guy."

Mrs Nixon says the trail was followed thanks to mistakes "White" made in failing to cover his tracks.

Lapsus$ crew


The Lapsus$ cyber-extortion group has gained notoriety in a short space of time thanks to its high-profile targets and active presence on the messaging app Telegram. Its channel has grown to 47,000 subscribers.

The last message was posted on the channel on Wednesday, with the group saying: "A few of our members has a vacation until 30/3/2022. We might be quiet for some times. Thanks for understand us - we will try to leak stuff ASAP."

Okta says hundreds of its customers were affected by the cyber-attack


Chris Morgan, from cyber-security company Digital Shadows, says Lapsus$ has risen in prominence in recent months "after targeting several enterprise technology companies, breaching significant amounts of data and posting on to their dedicated Telegram data leak channel".

"Little is known of the origins of the group, however, given that Lapsus$'s initial activity was directed towards several organisations in Brazil, some researchers have speculated that the group is based in South America," Mr Morgan said.

In a Wednesday blog post, Microsoft said Lapsus$ had gained limited access to its system.

Security company Okta admitted that it too had been hacked by the group, with consequences for hundreds of its clients.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×