Suspect in LinkedIn hack arrested in Prague

Czech authorities have arrested a man U.S. officials and LinkedIn believe stole personal information about millions of users of the social network for professionals.

Yevgeniy Nikulin, identified by law enforcement officials Wednesday as a Russian citizen, was arrested at a Prague hotel Oct. 5 on charges stemming from the 2012 data breach.

The theft didn’t come to light until this spring, when a hacker claimed to have more than 100 million LinkedIn login names and passwords. LinkedIn confirmed the breach in May.

The company cooperated with the FBI to track down the suspect, saying Wednesday that it was thankful for the FBI’s efforts “to locate and capture the parties believed to be responsible for this criminal activity.”

In a statement, the FBI confirmed the arrest of “a Russian citizen suspected of conducting criminal activities targeting U.S. interests,” though the bureau declined to comment further.

The case has nothing to do with recent hacks of the Democratic National Committee, one U.S. law enforcement official said.

The official described the hack as typical of the types of cybercrimes the FBI have investigated in recent years.