Via Ars Technica:

“4chan vigilante group Anonymous is used to getting away with its DDoS attacks and other Internet shenanigans, but that’s not going to be the case this time around. An arrest has been made in 4chan’s revenge attacks on PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard, begun after the companies stopped providing services to WikiLeaks. The first to go down is a Dutch 16-year-old boy, who has been arrested by the Dutch High Tech Crime Team and is being held for interrogation.

The teenager went unnamed by the National Prosecutor, but the team said in an announcement Thursday that the cyberattacks (some of which came out of the Netherlands) “quickly led” investigators to the suspect. In addition to his arrest, the 4channer’s computers and other devices were seized.

In addition to the high-profile attacks on the payment processors, Anonymous also made an attempt to take down Amazon after the company kicked WikiLeaks off its servers. That attempt appears to have failed (as did the initial attacks on PayPal), but the group could decide to renew its efforts at any time.

As for the arrested teenager, he has already confessed to being part of the attacks on Visa and MasterCard, according to Dutch authorities. The investigation is ongoing, though, because a larger group is “probably” involved. We’re going to go out on a limb and say that a single arrest won’t put a stop to the actions of that larger group.”

As I said yesterday this won’t be the first. This arrest was the result of a global effort involving the NSA, FBI, CIA and Dutch Law Enforcement. Other arrests are coming in the days ahead. Again, all those caught can be charged with terrorism under the Patriot Act – Mastercard, Paypal are US owned companies.