Two held for conspiracy to hack Microsoft network

London, June 23 (IANS) Detectives in Britain have arrested two men in connection with an international "conspiracy" to hack the Microsoft network, a media report said.

According to a Thursday report in The Registrar, the detectives -- based in the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) -- were now investigating "unauthorised intrusion into networks that Microsoft owns" between January and March.

"This group is spread around the world and therefore the investigation is being coordinated with our various partners (including Microsoft, the FBI, EUROPOL and the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit)," a detective was quoted as saying.

While one of the suspects, a 22-year-old was arrested on suspicion of gaining unauthorised access to a computer, the other, a 25-year-old, was arrested under the Computer Misuse Act offences.

The detectives have seized "a number of devices" during a raid. However, it was still not clear what information had been accessed by any alleged attacker.

Meanwhile, Microsoft said that no customer information has been compromised.

"Today's action by authorities in the UK represents an important step... Stronger internet security depends on the ability to identify and prosecute cybercriminals," Microsoft was quoted as saying.

"This requires not only strong technical capability, but the willingness to acknowledge issues publicly and refer them to law enforcement," it said.

"No customer data was accessed and we are confident in the integrity of our software and systems. We have comprehensive measures in place to prevent, detect and respond to attacks," the statement from Microsoft added.