Federal agents have arrested 16 cyber activists allegedly linked to the Anonymous collective.
The arrests – accompanied by 30 to 40 search warrants – took place across multiple states, including Florida, New Jersey and California.
According to FoxNews, the arrests appear to be part of an extensive “nationwide” crackdown against the enigmatic group.
14 suspects were identified in the same indictment, while two separate criminal complaints filed in New Jersey and Florida name the two other alleged hackers.
All 16 reportedly stand accused of executing coordinated distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against a number of high-profile companies.
As TG Daily previously reported, the latest anti-Anonymous operation kicked off this morning when 10 FBI agents swept the Baldwin, Long Island, home of Giordani Jordan and seized at least one laptop.
Meanwhile, additional FBI agents investigated a second Long Island home and searched yet another residence in Brooklyn.
The federal operation against the group comes just weeks after Anonymous activists associated with the AntiSec movement raided defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and IRC Federal – a government-contracted IT company which routinely works with a number of federal entities, including the FBI, Army, Navy, NASA and the Department of Justice.
Both raids closely followed an extensive (and highly embarrassing) digital campaign waged against Arizona law enforcement officials.
