Mar 06, 2012

LulzSec hackers arrested after ringleader turns informant

By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY Updated 7m ago

Five members of the elite hacking group LulzSec have been charged with cyberattacks following an international investigaton in a which a ringleader of the global organization began secretly working as an FBI informant, authorities announced today.

An indictment unsealed in New York says Hector Xavier Monsegur, of New York, a legendary hacker known as "Sabu," was charged with conspiracy to engage in computer hacking, among other offenses, and pleaded guilty in August.

According to the court papers, Monsegur was an "influential member of three hacking organizations — Anonymous, Internet Feds and Lulz Security — that were responsible for multiple cyberattacks on the computer systems of various businesses and governments in the United States and throughout the world."

Monsegur then began cooperating with the FBI against other members of LulzSec, the group that he had created in May and which is accused of breaking into business and government entitites worldwid, stealing confidential information and defacing websites.

Irish police say they have arrested one of the five suspects in Dublin.

Some alleged associates of the group are already facing charges elsewhere. An English teenager, Ryan Cleary, was arrested by the British in June. In July, a reputed LulzSec spokesman, Jake Davis, was arrested in Scotland, the Associated Press reports.

According to court papers unsealed today, Monsegur and others planted a fake story that slain rapper Tupac Shakur was alive in New Zealand in retaliation for what they perceived to be unfavorable news coverage of Wikileaks on the PBS news program Frontline.

Original posting: LulzSec, also known as Lulz Security, and Anonymous have claimed responsibility for hacking into such companies and institutions as the CIA, Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, Japan's Sony Corp and Mexican government websites, Reuters reports.

Foxnews. com, in an exclusive report, says law enforcement officers on two continents nabbed three LulzSec leaders early today and charged two more with conspiracy.

It reports that two of those charged are from London, two from Ireland and one from Chicago.

Irish police say they have arrested 1 of 5 men being sought in LulzSec hacking case, the Associated Press reports.

Foxnews.com says the authorities were acting largely on evidence gathered by the organization's leader who, according to unidentified sources, has been secretly working for the government for months.

"This is devastating to the organization," an FBI official involved with the investigation tells Fox News. "We're chopping off the head of LulzSec."

Foxnews.com reports that was LulzSec was allegedly led by a 28-year-old hacker identified as Hector Xavier Monsegur, who used the Internet alias "Sabu."

Foxnews.com says Monsegur, who operated out of a public housing project in New York City, was arrested last June and has been cooperating with the FBI.

Foxnews.com says an indictment in the case will be unsealed today in the Southern District Court of New York.

LulzSec hackers arrested after ringleader turns informant