# data[].attributes.body
GCSE students can now revise for their ICT exam through an intuitive and well written-app.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
GCSE students can now revise for their ICT exam through an intuitive and well written-app.

# data[].attributes.body
So what can you do to try to protect yourself from danger?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Telecoms provider TalkTalk is investigating a "significant and sustained cyber-attack" on its website in which some of its customer data may have been accessed.

The phone and broadband provider has said that some of its customers' credit card details may have been accessed.

However, it added that the details would have been incomplete because some of the digits are replaced with the letter "x" in its records.

Unfortunately, many attackers target the vulnerable in the wake of a big cyber-attack, trying to trick them into handing over more of their personal information.

So what can you do to try to protect yourself from danger?

Beware of scam calls

Be wary if you receive any telephone calls claiming to be from TalkTalk, especially if the caller asks you for private information.

TalkTalk says it never asks customers to give their full passwords or Pin codes over the telephone.

"If you're talking to somebody, think whether what you are saying is exactly the kind of information which would open up your bank account," Daniel Dresner from the University of Manchester told BBC Breakfast.

"These companies don't ask for that kind of information."

If you are not sure whether a call from TalkTalk is genuine, ask for a reference number and call the company back yourself on 0203 441 5550. It is a good idea to wait at least five minutes before returning the call - or use phone another line.

Be careful with emails too

Attackers can send very convincing emails that look like they are from TalkTalk but are actually trying to gather your personal information.

They may even refer to the cyber-attack in an attempt to appear genuine.

Be suspicious if an email asks you to reply with personal information or click on a link. Criminals can set up official-looking websites to harvest your account details.

"I would caution against clicking links in emails you are unsure of - it's always better to type the website address manually, to avoid the risk of being redirected to a phishing site," said David Emm from security firm Kaspersky Lab.

If you suspect an email is not genuine, call the company's customer service line and ask whether they have sent one.

Monitor your bank account

Although it can be a nuisance for victims of a cyber-attack to monitor their bank accounts, it can help spot problems quickly.

Look through your recent transactions for any payments you do not recognise, even if they are very small.

"People will try and take a small amount first. TalkTalk has four million customers. If they do four million £1 transactions, that's not a bad haul," said Mr Dresner.

If you spot any unusual activity you should contact your bank and Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Never reuse passwords

TalkTalk is advising customers to change their account password as soon as its website is back up and running.

It is especially important to change your password on other websites, if you have used the same one across many accounts.

Attackers may have harvested usernames, email addresses and passwords from TalkTalk which could let them unlock other services such as your email.

"It's a growing concern that many use the same password and personal details across multiple online accounts, meaning if their details have been compromised by one attack they could find other accounts suffer too," said Mr Emm.

Security experts recommend using a different password for each account.

Leave TalkTalk

TalkTalk has reported three cyber-attacks over the past 12 months, so some customers may feel it's time to move elsewhere.

However, such a step could be costly.

The firm has said it would only waive its termination fees for customers who have had money stolen from them as a consequence of the latest incident.

Others face a penalty of up to £23.31 for each month that remains on their contract.

Unsurprisingly, the firm's share price recovered some of its recent losses after it made clear this stipulation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Telecoms provider TalkTalk is investigating a "significant and sustained cyber-attack" on its website in which some of its customer data may have been accessed. The phone and broadband provider has said that some of its customers' credit card details may have been accessed.

# data[].attributes.headline
Boy, 15, arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with TalkTalk hack

# data[].attributes.subject
Boy, 15, arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with TalkTalk hack

# data[].attributes.body
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with the TalkTalk hacking attack, Scotland Yard has said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with the TalkTalk hacking attack, Scotland Yard has said.

Metropolitan Police said a house had been searched in County Antrim on Monday afternoon at about 16:20 GMT.

The boy was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences.

He has been taken into custody at Antrim police station and is being questioned by detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

A search of the address is ongoing and inquiries continue.

A police statement said this was a joint investigation involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and detectives from the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit (MPCCU).

News that the TalkTalk website had been hit by a "significant and sustained cyber-attack" broke last week.

The phone and broadband provider, which has over four million UK customers, said banking details and personal information could have been accessed.

A criminal investigation was launched on Thursday.

The company said it did not know how much of their customer information had been encrypted.

At the weekend, TalkTalk's chief executive said the attack was "smaller" than originally thought.

Dido Harding said any credit card details taken would have been partial and the information may not have been enough to withdraw money "on its own".

Card details accessed were incomplete - with many numbers appearing as an x - and "not usable" for financial transactions, it added.

Business leaders have called for urgent action to tackle cyber crime in the wake of the TalkTalk attack.

On Monday, MPs said an inquiry would be launched into the cyber-attack that could have put customers' details at risk.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey told the House of Commons the government was not against compulsory encryption for firms holding customer data.

Shares in the telecoms company fell more than 12% in Monday trading, extending its losses from last week, when news of the attack first emerged.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with the TalkTalk hacking attack, Scotland Yard has said. Metropolitan Police said a house had been searched in County Antrim on Monday afternoon at about 16:20 GMT. The boy was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences.

# data[].attributes.body
Police are investigating a "significant and sustained cyber-attack" on the TalkTalk website, the UK company says. (23/10/2015)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Police are investigating a "significant and sustained cyber-attack" on the TalkTalk website, the UK company says.

The phone and broadband provider, which has over four million UK customers, said banking details and personal information could have been accessed.

TalkTalk said potentially all customers could be affected but it was too early to know what data had been stolen.

The Metropolitan Police said no-one had been arrested over Wednesday's attack but enquiries were ongoing.

TalkTalk said in a statement that a criminal investigation had been launched on Thursday.

It said there was a chance that some of the following customer data, not all of which was encrypted, had been accessed:

Names and addresses

Dates of birth

Email addresses

Telephone numbers

TalkTalk account information

Credit card and bank details

In the wake of the news, the company's share price dropped by 10% in the first few hours after the London stock exchange opened at 08:00 BST.

Cyber security consultant and former Scotland Yard detective Adrian Culley told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a Russian Islamist group had posted online to claim responsibility for the attacks.

He said hackers claiming to be a cyber-jihadi group had posted data which appeared to be TalkTalk customers' private information - although he stressed their claim was yet to be verified or investigated.

Dido Harding, chief executive of the TalkTalk group, told BBC News the authorities were investigating and she could not comment on the claims.

Analysis

By Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology correspondent

Cyber-attacks on consumer companies happen with mounting frequency, but TalkTalk's speedy decision to warn all of its customers that their vital data is at risk suggests that this one is very serious indeed.

We are being told that this was what's called a DDoS - a distributed denial of service attack - where a website is hit by waves of traffic so intense that it cannot cope. What is not clear is why this would result in the loss of data rather than just the site going down. One suggestion is that the DDoS was a means of distracting TalkTalk's defence team while the criminals went about their work.

I'm assured that TalkTalk customers' details, including banking information, were all being held in the UK rather than in some overseas data centre. What is less clear is the extent to which that data was encrypted.

For TalkTalk, the cost to its reputation is likely to be very serious. Now it is going to have to reassure its customers that its security practices are robust enough to regain their trust.

The TalkTalk website was now secure again and TV, broadband, mobile and phone services had not been affected by the attack, she added.

The sales website and the "My account" services are still down but the company hopes to restore them on Friday.

Ms Harding added: "It's too early to know exactly what data has been attacked and what has been stolen," she said.

"Potentially it could affect all of our customers, which is why we are contacting them all by email and we will also write to them as well."

However, customers have expressed their frustration with what is the third cyber-attack to affect TalkTalk over the past 12 months.

Sara Jones, from East Sussex, said she found out about the breach in the news.

"I have not received a single piece of correspondence. The level of information is lacking. And to think this is Get Safe Online Week!

"TalkTalk's online advice is not proportionate to what has happened. Telling customers to "keep an eye on accounts" just does not cut it in terms of advice."

Daniel Musgrove, from Powys, said he had been unable to get through to TalkTalk customer services.

"They may not get a payment for my next bill if they don't get this sorted," he added.

In August, the company revealed its mobile sales site had been targeted and personal data breached.

And in February, TalkTalk customers were warned about scammers who had managed to steal thousands of account numbers and names.

The biggest risk is that customers' details have been stolen and criminals try to impersonate them
Dido Harding, TalkTalk group chief executive

Ms Harding said: "Unfortunately cybercrime is the crime of our generation. Can our defences be stronger? Absolutely. Can every company's defences be stronger?

"I'm a customer myself of Talk Talk, I've been a victim of this attack."

What should you do if you think you're at risk?

Report any unusual activity on your accounts to your bank and the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk

TalkTalk is advising customers to change their account password as soon as its website is back up and running - expected to be later on Friday - and any other accounts for which you use the same password

Beware of scams: TalkTalk will not call or email customers asking for bank details or for you to download software to your computer, or send emails asking for you to provide your password

TalkTalk said it had contacted the major banks asking them to look out for any suspicious activity on customers' accounts. It added that every customer would be getting a year's free credit monitoring.

Ms Harding said: "The biggest risk is that customers' details have been stolen and criminals try to impersonate them."

Professor Peter Sommer, an expert an cyber security, said TalkTalk's rapid growth could be to blame for the breaches.

"They are acquiring more customers and each of those customers wants to do more things and so they have to increase their capacity... but that's an expensive exercise," he told the BBC.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Police are investigating a "significant and sustained cyber-attack" on the TalkTalk website, the UK company says. The phone and broadband provider, which has over four million UK customers, said banking details and personal information could have been accessed. TalkTalk said potentially all customers could be affected but it was too early to know what data had been stolen.

# data[].attributes.body
Learn how to program, the fun way!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Internet forums and chatrooms can have positive effects that should be more widely acknowledged, experts say.

The call comes after Oxford University researchers carried out an analysis of 14 different studies looking at how young people use the internet.

The review - published in the Plos One journal - said a number of studies had found a link between internet use and self-harm and suicide.

But it said others had found the internet could be a positive influence.

The dangers of internet use have received widespread coverage this year. In one case, in August, 14-year-old Hannah Smith from Leicestershire was found hanged after she had been sent abusive messages on a social networking site.

Since then research by the NSPCC has suggested a fifth of 11 to 16-year-olds have had negative experiences using the internet.

'Socially isolated'

The Oxford University research highlighted a number of dangers from internet use, including the normalising of self-harm and the risk of bullying.

It also said there was a "strong link" between internet forums and an increased risk of suicide in particular.

Rather than concentrating primarily on ways of blocking and censoring such sites, we should think about online opportunities to reach out to people in emotional distress
Joe Ferns, Samaritans

But the researchers said some studies had shown that internet forums could support and connect socially isolated people.

There were also examples where forum users encouraged positive behaviour, advised others to seek help and congratulated each other for not harming themselves.

Report author Prof Keith Hawton said: "Communication via the internet and other electronic means has potential roles in both contributing to and preventing suicidal behaviour in young people.

"The next step is going to be development of therapeutic interventions using these channels of communication, especially to access those who do not seek help from clinical services."

Joe Ferns of the Samaritans added: "We should acknowledge that many people are using suicide forums and chatrooms to anonymously discuss their feelings of distress and despair, including suicidal thoughts, which may have a positive impact on the individual. They may be expressing feelings that they have never disclosed to anyone in their offline lives.

"Rather than concentrating primarily on ways of blocking and censoring such sites, we should think about online opportunities to reach out to people in emotional distress."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Internet forums and chatrooms can have positive effects that should be more widely acknowledged, experts say. The call comes after Oxford University researchers carried out an analysis of 14 different studies looking at how young people use the internet.