INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightMetropolitan PoliceImage caption
Matthew Hanley (left) and Connor Allsopp (right) were two of up to 10
jailed.Matthew Hanley, 23, and Connor Allsopp, 21, both from Tamworth in Staffordshire, admitted their roles in the massive 2015 data breach
which affected 1.6 million accounts.Hanley, described as a "dedicated hacker", shared details of more than 8,000 customers with Allsopp.At
the Old Bailey, Hanley was jailed for 12 months and Allsopp for eight.Sentencing, Judge Anuja Dhir QC said they were "individuals of
extraordinary talent"."I'm sure that your actions caused misery and distress to the many thousands of the customers at TalkTalk," she
said.The court accepted that neither Hanley, of Devonshire Drive, nor Allsopp, of Coronation Street, had "exposed the vulnerability in
[TalkTalk's] systems but you at different times joined in," Judge Dhir said.In November 2015, a 17-year-old boy admitted posting details of
a chink in the firm's online security, sparking the breach.Analysis by BAE Systems suggested there may have been up to 10 attackers
Hanley also obtained computer files including names and passwords for server systems belonging to Nasa, after a Skype contact forwarded the
breach
TalkTalk spotted issues with its site on 21 October 2015 and launched an investigation before warning customers the
following day.This led to its then-CEO Dido Harding being subjected to blackmail attempts, with hackers demanding Bitcoin in exchange for
the stolen data.Hanley admitted hacking into the website between 18 and 22 October 2015, supplying data for hacking to another man and
giving Allsopp the personal and financial details of customers.Allsopp also admitted obtaining the Nasa passwords.The court heard he had
boasted of having this material and erased all the content off his computer before his arrest on 30 October 2015.Allsopp admitted supplying
customer details to another user for fraud as well as the necessary files for hacking.Judge Dhir said the pair were "both involved in a
significant, sophisticated systematic hack attack in a computer system used by TalkTalk"."The total loss to TalkTalk as a result of this
