A teenage resident of Tallinn has been arrested by Estonian police in connection with a wave of Denial of Service attacks that disrupted the functioning of the country's Internet servers. The attacks were linked to a diplomatic stand-off between Estonia and Russia over the relocation of a Soviet-era war memorial in the Baltic state's capital. Protests from the local Russian minority spilled over from the streets of Tallinn, where one person died and more than 150 were arrested, onto the Internet: official web portals were hacked and access to them blocked.

Following days of disturbances a tense calm has now descended over Tallinn, and Estonian police have now reported their first arrest in connection with the Internet attacks. According to a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, a 19-year-old of Russian origin has been arrested in Tallinn. The teenager was allegedly involved in posting calls for DoS attacks on Estonian sites and providing IP addresses for official sites that he wanted targeted.

Despite the fact that many attacks may have have come from abroad, Estonia intends to use all means at its disposal to bring those responsible for blocking the country's key Internet portals to justice. This means that this first arrest may certainly not be the last in the Estonian investigation - the authorities are still trying to find the perpetrators, and according to official sources many leads can be traced to Russia. Ivo Kolk, from the Central Criminal Police, said that the main attack routes were traced by his department in cooperation with other state services and private security professionals.