Law enforcement officials on two continents appear to have taken down LulzSec, a hacker group loosely affiliated with Anonymous.
According to FoxNews, the anti LulzSec operation – conducted in Great Britain, Ireland and Chicago – was facilitated by evidence gathered by none other than Sabu (aka Hector Xavier Monsegur), who acted as the de-facto leader of the hacker cell.
”This is devastating to the organization,” said an FBI official. “We’re chopping off the head of LulzSec.”
Indeed, “Sabu” has been identified as an unemployed, 28-year-old father of two who allegedly commanded an international team of hackers from a public housing project on New York’s Lower East Side.
Monsegur apparently became a cooperating witness after the FBI unmasked him in June, when he plead guilty to 12 hacking-related charges.
“They caught him and he was secretly arrested and now works for the FBI,” a source close to Sabu confirmed.
As noted above, Monsegur’s cooperation led to the eventual bust of LulzSec, with the following five notable hackers being taken into custody: Ryan Ackroyd (Monsegur’s top deputy), aka “Kayla” and Jake Davis, aka “Topiary,” (previously detained) both of London; Darren Martyn, aka “pwnsauce” and Donncha O’Cearrbhail, aka “palladium,” both of Ireland; and Jeremy Hammond aka “Anarchaos,” of Chicago.
Hammond – also an alleged member of Anonymous – was arrested on access device fraud and hacking charges. He stands accused of orchestrating the December hack of the US-based Stratfor, which resulted in the theft of millions of e-mails.
Cyber activists associated with Anonymous responded to the LulzSec takedown by tweeting: “Don’t you get it by now? #Anonymous is an idea. #Anonymous is a movement. It will keep growing, adapting and evolving, no matter what.”
