Finn hacker steals personal info in cyber strike

(AP)—Helsinki Police say they detained a hacker last weekend suspected of accessing thousands of usernames and passwords of visitors to more than 300 websites.

Police spokesman Jukkapekka Risu said officers arrested an unnamed local man, who allegedly acknowledged his actions. Officers are analyzing his confiscated computers. They declined to give more details.

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority warned Friday that the suspect might have accessed "usernames and passwords of hundreds of thousands of Finns," mostly from chat forums, adding that the attacks were not aimed at banks.

Erkki Mustonen from global computer security company F-Secure Corp. said it was one of the biggest hacker attacks in the Nordic country to date and could have been prompted by a desire for the hacker to demonstrate his skills.

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