A YOUNG cyber attack hacker was described as a “modern day Oliver Twist” as he was sent to prison for his part in a hit on Transport for London’s systems.

Defence lawyers for Thalha Jubair, 20, said he had been groomed like Dickens’ most famous character into a gang behind cyber attacks before playing a role in a hack which cost £39 million to TfL.The attack caused panic for four days in early September 2024 – and a court heard that it could have lead to “catastrophic damage” to the organisation.

Mr Jubair and fellow defendant Owen Flowers, 20, accessed the database of customers’ Oyster cards, the refund system and applications for photocards. All of TfL’s staff – it has 27,000 employees – were called in to reset their work passwords.

The two men in court were both teenagers at the time of the attack and Mr Flowers was described by his own legal defence as “an immature child trying to show off”.

Woolwich Crown Court heard, however, that they had been part of a gang which had attempted a series of hacks including the targetting of Jaguar, Co-Op and Marks and Spencer.

Both Mr Jubair and Mr Flowers pleaded guilty to the hacking charges and were jailed for five years and six months each.

Judge Mr Justice Turner said he was satisifed that the crimes were “motivated by selfish bravado”.