British police have released a 16-year-old hacker on bail. Known as “Tflow,” the suspect is allegedly linked to both LulzSec and Anonymous.
According to a U.S. law enforcement official, Tflow was a “significant player” in coordinated attacks against various corporate and government websites, including the CIA, Visa, Mastercard, Sony and Fox.
“In respect to his capability and alleged membership in this group that can cripple online entities, and the alleged act he [is] accused of committing – carrying out coordinated DDoS attacks – yes, he’s a significant subject of the investigation,” the official told FoxNews.
“He was significant enough to be arrested in an international, coordinated, law-enforcement takedown.”
Tflow was arrested earlier this week as part of an international crackdown against Anonymous.
The anti-Anonymous operation kicked off on Tuesday morning in the U.S. when 10 FBI agents swept the Baldwin, Long Island, home of Giordani Jordan and seized at least one laptop. Prosecutors subsequently charged 14 people with conspiracy and intentional damage over their alleged participation in a DDoS attack against Paypal from December 6-10, 2010.
An additional two individuals from New Mexico and Florida netted in the raids also stand accused of improper access to computer files.
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.
