Two Arrested in Connection with Cyberattack on London Nursery Chain Kido
Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire - Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man in connection with a recent cyberattack targeting the Kido chain of nurseries in London.The arrests were made at residential addresses in Bishop’s Stortford on suspicion of computer misuse and blackmail, the Metropolitan Police announced.
The cyberattack involved the theft of photographs, names, and addresses of approximately 8,000 children attending Kido nurseries. The incident was initially reported to the Action Fraud cyber crime reporting service on september 25th as a ransomware attack.
Hackers identifying themselves as ”Radiant” initially attempted to extort Kido for around £600,000 in Bitcoin, seeking media attention for the data theft. after failing to receive payment, the group began publishing images and profiles of children on a darknet site starting September 25th, a move described by cyber experts as a particularly egregious act. The stolen data also included contact details for parents and carers.
Throughout the attack, hackers directly contacted parents to pressure Kido into paying the ransom. They initially released profiles of a small number of children, increasing the total to 20, before unexpectedly blurring the images due to concerns about their reputation within the hacking community.
On October 2nd, Radiant removed all stolen data and images from their darknet site, claiming to have deleted all 8,000 children’s files.In a statement, the hackers said, “No more remains and this can comfort parents.”
Both individuals remain in police custody for questioning.
“We understand reports of this nature can cause considerable concern, especially to those parents and carers who may be worried about the impact of such an incident on them and their families,” said Will Lyne, Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime. “These arrests are a notable step forward in our investigation,but our work continues,alongside our partners,to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
Kido has confirmed they identified and responded to the cyber incident,working with external specialists. A spokesperson for the company stated, “We swiftly informed both our families and the relevant authorities.”
