Teenagers plead not guilty over Transport for London cyber attack

Two teenagers accused of being involved in hacking Transport for London’s computers have both pleaded not guilty to computer hacking charges during a hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

Thalha Jubair 19, from East London, and Owen Flowers, 18, from Walsall in the West Midlands spoke only to confirm their names and enter pleas at the brief hearing.

They are both charged with conspiring to commit unauthorised acts against Transport for London (TfL) under the Computer Misuse Act.

In addition, Mr Flowers is accused of attempting to hack computer systems belonging to California-based Sutter Health and another US company, SSM Healthcare Corporation.

Mr Jubair has also been charged with failing to provide passwords for his devices.

TfL said the hack caused £39m of damage and disrupted TfL services for three months in the autumn of 2024.

While transport itself was unaffected, many TfL online services and information boards went offline as part of the attack.

TfL was forced to write to thousands of customers to say there may have been unauthorised access to their personal information such as bank account numbers and sort codes.

Data including names, emails and home addresses were accessed.

Judge Christopher Hehir set a trial date for 8 June next year, a hearing which is expected to last between four and six weeks.

Both men continue to be held on remand.