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.
![](https://images.assettype.com/tgdaily/2016-09/d75e4017-ccd6-4343-8d2e-c225e26b25aa/fbievidenceresponse.jpg)
”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.”