Top LulzSec hackers arrested, group leader reportedly working for FBI

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The laughs are reportedly over for five top members of the hacker group LulzSec who were arrested on Tuesday and charged as part of a conspiracy case filed in New York federal court. <em>FoxNews.com</em> reports that the arrests were part of a multinational sting across the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States on Tuesday morning, and LulzSec leader Hector Xavier Monsegur, who operated online under the alias “Sabu,” provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation with information leading to the arrests. According to the report, Monsegur has been working with the FBI for months. “This is devastating to the organization,” an FBI official <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/06/hacking-group-lulzsec-swept-up-by-law-enforcement/">told <em>FoxNews.com</em></a>. “We’re chopping off the head of LulzSec.” Read on for more.<span id="more-130450"></span>

LulzSec, which became part of the larger hacker collective “Anonymous Operations” last year, has <a href="http://www.bgr.com/tag/lulzsec/">launched a number of high profile cyberattacks</a> since last summer. The group’s first widely reports attacks targeted a number of digital properties belonging to Sony, and <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2011/06/02/sony-pictures-website-hacked-1-million-accounts-compromised/">more than 1 million accounts were compromised</a> as a result of the group’s efforts.

The group also <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2011/06/20/lulzsec-and-anonymous-unite-to-wage-war-on-u-s-government/">waged war on the U.S. government</a>, and encouraged other hackers to ”open fire on any government or agency that crosses their path.” This brazen move may have intensified the FBI’s efforts to take down the organization, as a series of arrests were made soon after operation “AntiSec” began.

LulzSec leader Hector Monsegur reportedly pleaded guilty to a dozen hacking-related charges on August 15th last year, and his ensuing cooperation with the FBI’s investigation will likely earn him a reduced sentence. ”They caught him and he was secretly arrested and now works for the FBI,” a unnamed source said to be close to Sabu told <em>FoxNews.com</em>.

The five men arrested on Tuesday as a result of Monsegur’s cooperation include Ryan Ackroyd, aka “Kayla” and Jake Davis, aka “Topiary,” of London, England; Darren Martyn, aka “pwnsauce” and Donncha O’Cearrbhail, aka “palladium,” of Ireland; and Jeremy Hammond aka “Anarchaos,” of Chicago, Illinois. Further details are expected to be released later in the day.

UPDATE: <em>FoxNews.com</em> has published a follow-up piece that <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/06/exclusive-inside-lulzsec-mastermind-turns-on-his-minions/">takes a closer look at Monsegur and further details his alleged cooperation with the FBI</a>.

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Via BRG - Boy Genius Report