Six people accused of being members of computer hacking groups, including some suspected of involvement in the attack on Austin-based intelligence firm Stratfor, were indicted Tuesday, according to federal court records in New York.
The U.S. government charged six people suspected of being members of Anonymous, LulzSec and other hacking groups, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan.
Four suspects — Ryan Ackroyd, Jake Davis, Darren Martyn and Donncha O'Cearrbhail — are accused of attempting to hack into computers used by News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting and security firm HBGary Inc. and by governments, including Yemen's.
The others — Hector Xavier Monsegur, accused of being an influential member of Anonymous, Internet Feds and LulzSec, and Jeremy Hammond — also face charges specifically related to the attack on Stratfor, which publishes reports and analysis on global geopolitics.
Hammond, who identified himself as a member of AntiSec, was charged with the December hack of Stratfor, which officials say exposed about 75,000 customers' names, addresses and credit card numbers. Internal e-mails also were taken.
The WikiLeaks website on Feb. 27 released some of what it said were more than 5 million of Stratfor's internal emails. WikiLeaks said the emails "reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations." Stratfor would not confirm whether the emails were authentic.
In a statement Tuesday, Stratfor said it "applauds the hard work of the law enforcement organizations involved in the investigation. As the matter now moves through the judicial system, we will stay focused on working to recover from the episode."
According to federal authorities, Hammond was known online by a variety of monikers, including "Anarchaos," "tylerknowsthis" and "crediblethreat." AntiSec members had posted a document with links to the stolen Stratfor information on a file-sharing website and called the document "Anonymous Lulzxmas rooting you proud," affirming their relationship with Anonymous, authorities said.
Hammond appeared Tuesday in federal court in Chicago and agreed to be transferred to New York to face the charges.
The hackers arrested are among the leaders of Anonymous, the self-professed hacker activist group, and LulzSec, or Lulz Security, an affiliated group, according to Barrett Brown, an informal Anonymous spokesman, whose apartment in Dallas was raided Tuesday. Monsegur continued to work with Anonymous until last week, Brown said.
Monsegur, known as "Sabu," pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to engage in computer hacking, prosecutors said. He was accused of attacking the websites of the governments of Algeria, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
Monsegur agreed to cooperate with the U.S. investigation, according to a transcript of his plea hearing.
Brown said Monsegur had access to confidential dealings among the top leadership of LulzSec and Anonymous. He said it's unclear to the group what information Monsegur might have passed to the FBI as he worked on operations, including the hack of Stratfor.
"They managed to get people who are very important, the de facto leadership," Brown said. "That's something they haven't been able to do up to now."
Brown said Monsegur was responsible for the release of personal information of law enforcement and military personnel obtained after the Stratfor hack, which he described as controversial within Anonymous.
"The release of the credit cards on the Stratfor hack, that was Sabu," Brown said. "In terms of incriminating other people, who knows what he may have done?"
Monsegur was allowed to remain free on $50,000 bail and remains under the supervision of the FBI "with respect to travel and reporting," court records show.
Additional material from Bloomberg News and the Chicago Tribune
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