Lapsus$: Two UK teenagers charged with hacking for gang

City of London Police has arrested seven people as a part of its investigation into Lapsus$

Two teenagers from the UK have appeared in court charged with hacking for a major cyber-crime gang.

A 16- and 17-year-old appeared at Highbury Corner youth court, in London, on Friday charged with a number of cyber-offences.

The two boys have been released on bail, subject to certain conditions.

They were arrested as part of an international police investigation into the Lapsus$ gang, which has hacked major tech firms including Microsoft.

Both teenagers are charged with three counts of unauthorised access with intent to impair operation of, or hinder, access to a computer, and two counts of fraud by false representation.

The 16-year-old, has also been charged with one count of causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorised access to a programme.

In court, the 17-year-old wore a dark blue Adidas T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms. The 16-year-old wore a grey tracksuit.

Prosecutor Valerie Benjamin said the case should be sent to crown court due to its complex nature and the sums allegedly involved.

Legal restrictions related to the ages of suspects mean the names or personal details about the boys cannot be revealed.

The Lapsus$ group has successfully breached major firms such as Microsoft, and then bragged about it online.

The FBI has launched an appeal for information about the people behind the hacking crew.

Last week City of London Police which is leading the international investigation into Lapsus$, announced that it had arrested seven people between the ages of 16 and 21 in the UK.

Around the same time as news of the arrests emerged, Lapsus$ told its 45,000 followers on Telegram that some of its members were taking "a vacation".

On Wednesday, it started posting again - releasing stolen material from a software development company with headquarters in Argentina.