AfterDawn: Tech news

Top LulzSec members arrested after leader, Sabu, flips

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Mar 2012 7:44 User comments (25)

Top LulzSec members arrested after leader, Sabu, flips Law enforcement agents across the U.S. and Europe have arrested all the top members of the "LulzSec" hacking group today, thanks to evidence collected by the former leader of the group.
Hector Xavier Monsegur, better known as "Sabu," has been working with the government since August, in secret, collecting information to arrest the other members of the team that caused havoc and headlines for a brief period in 2011.

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

In August, Sabu plead guilty to 12 counts of conspiracy, computer hacking, aggravated identity theft, and bank fraud.

Of the new arrests, two men are from the UK, two from Ireland and one from Chicago. Four are charged with conspiracy. The group, in just two months, caused billions of dollars in damages to governments, banks and corporations. Sabu, a 28-year-old unemployed father, commanded the team from his project apartment in New York. The hacker was arrested in June, and quickly flipped and began working for the FBI.



The LulzSec members arrested today are Ryan Ackroyd, aka "Kayla" and Jake Davis, aka "Topiary," of London; Darren Martyn, aka "pwnsauce" and Donncha O'Cearrbhail, aka "palladium," of Ireland; and Jeremy Hammond aka "Anarchaos," of Chicago. The first four will be charged with conspiracy to engage in computer hacking as the group LulzSec and as the group Internet Feds.

Hammond, who is also a member of Anonymous, is said to be behind the attack on Statfor, where 100,000 emails were stolen and published on WikiLeaks. Hammond is accused of device fraud and hacking and will get his own indictment.

Pic of Sabu. Great story by Fox on the man himself is here, as well: Unmasking Sabu

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25 user comments

16.3.2012 20:35

Typical rat
you'd think a hacktivist group with such a resume would be better equipped to avoid being caught. It's probably a good time for some of them to re-evaluate who they think they can trust

26.3.2012 21:12

Always gota be a snitch!!!!!!!!!

36.3.2012 21:32

wow i wonder what your sentence will be!!! none for helping out the feds nice job sell out

47.3.2012 00:51

He won't last long in prison.

57.3.2012 03:04

Hackers love to hack, but they don't like to get caught and punished. The more of them that get caught, the better. I just wish I could see them crying about it.

67.3.2012 03:52

Quote:
you'd think a hacktivist group with such a resume would be better equipped to avoid being caught. It's probably a good time for some of them to re-evaluate who they think they can trust
There are skilled enough hackers that still won't get caught even with this rat. The rat has a point, if you good enough it don't matter what I tell the FBI as I don't know any of you personally.

All it is, FBI trying to play hide and seek with them and just so happen to have a gem up their sleeve. However, the best that gem can do is catch the amateurs that don't know how to properly triangulate their attacks so that it becomes untraceable.

Should be interesting times ahead.

77.3.2012 04:27

....for all those flipping side....they born to kiss a** : Enjoy the smell down there !

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 08 Mar 2012 @ 3:09

87.3.2012 04:42

now that they have exposed the rat it might only be a matter of time before something bad happens to that rat.

97.3.2012 08:10

The problem people don't think of is the other people they hang with, this guy has a wife and 2 kids.

Do you guys really think he'll be siding with lulsec just to keep other people "safe" while he gets screwed and the rest of the family gets screwed too.

lulz

Few people will ever do that, that geohot never did that and he didn't have kids and stuff.


Welcome to the real world anonymous, bit different to the net.

107.3.2012 08:34

Sad, but not surprising. Being a father I don't get involved with that stuff BECAUSE i don't want it to affect my son. If i was single, with no children.....

117.3.2012 09:15

lets think of lulzsec as a gang.here if a gang member gets in trouble and keeps there mouth shut they do there time and are looked after in jail and get out.if a gang member here cuts a deal and backstabs a gang they might escape jail time but they spend the rest of there life looking over there shoulder and receiving death threats thats if they dont get killed first.

lulzsec is a group or gang of hackers those that dont get caught might go on to something bigger and more powerful.one day they might be powerful enough to retaliate.

127.3.2012 09:26

Originally posted by Mysttic:
Quote:
you'd think a hacktivist group with such a resume would be better equipped to avoid being caught. It's probably a good time for some of them to re-evaluate who they think they can trust
There are skilled enough hackers that still won't get caught even with this rat. The rat has a point, if you good enough it don't matter what I tell the FBI as I don't know any of you personally.

All it is, FBI trying to play hide and seek with them and just so happen to have a gem up their sleeve. However, the best that gem can do is catch the amateurs that don't know how to properly triangulate their attacks so that it becomes untraceable.

Should be interesting times ahead.

False.

In fact, NO attack is "untraceable"; you can only make it (hopefully) too expensive and/or time-consuming to pursue your trail. If you use an ISP, you are NOT invisible, period, VPN or no. Even using open WiFi is no panacea, although it does add another layer of difficulty. Pretty much the only reliable protection is residence in a country that is at least somewhat hostile to the victim, such as China vs. the US.

To put it simply, no one is Superman, sorry.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 07 Mar 2012 @ 9:28

137.3.2012 10:36

For one thing folks BallSac gave up on their stupidity some time back knowing full well that they were on the the way to being caught. Like any prison bitch rat being dangled above a cage full of real killers & rapists this sodomy enriched chew toy will do anything to keep his cherry ass out of the trade chain of the horror lock up 'forever Saturday Night'.

Like someone else said, He doesn't 'really know' any of the members on very much of a personal level. Truth be known, there may have been some measuring contests out there in cyberland, but it would have all been lies to some extents as well. So follow that trail would probably be fruitless as well.
BallSac is dead & has been for quite some time. Dancing this ass hat's photo on the internet & news media parade circuit isn't going to cause more members to start jumping out their windows to commence chanting their involvement with the hacktivist movement that did little else but prove college kids had nothing else better to do with their time while classes were out for the summer.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 07 Mar 2012 @ 10:52

147.3.2012 15:53

I really don't think this should have suprised anyone. Like said above this is the real world. Drug dealers and all other sorts of criminals roll on each other every day. Life isn't a movie. There is no honor amongst theives and no one is willing to go down with the ship. Not many anyway. The few exceptions are the suprise. Whether it's wise for them to do so is another story.

157.3.2012 16:18

That's the issue with hackers... they really aren't that good. While talented, if they were bright enough to use their talents more productively, they would be running profitable corporations instead of trying to bring them down.

167.3.2012 20:53

Originally posted by pirkster:
That's the issue with hackers... they really aren't that good. While talented, if they were bright enough to use their talents more productively, they would be running profitable corporations instead of trying to bring them down.
Read Fox's profile of Sabu at the end of my article up top. Others interviewed said he was smart enough to run IT for a Fortune 500 company but he was just lazy and stupid about it.

178.3.2012 03:08

ANONYMITY SUGGESTIONS:
http://tmblr.co/ZyfgWxHeXqxv

Just For Fun:
Follow the New Hashtag #WhatWouldYouDoWithSabu

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 08 Mar 2012 @ 3:17

188.3.2012 14:09

Originally posted by DVDBack23:
Read Fox's profile of Sabu at the end of my article up top. Others interviewed said he was smart enough to run IT for a Fortune 500 company but he was just lazy and stupid about it.
My point since day one... Stupidity & a pawn. Use your 'rocks' to draw fire to cover your advancement or withdrawal. Simple field tactics to move your more important troupes about the combat arena. He's a f*k up & nothing more.

Cry not for the bowl of puppy shit he's served himself. It was easy, simple & cheap & his dub ass chose the easy road to follow just like every other Saturday morning 'reset button' moron that seems to think they're 'due' a life these days.

He's another wanna be 60s activist that knows nothing about sacrifice. He just wanted to be part of a group & get a thrill. Nothing more. Now that thrill has him WAY over his head & by the nuts with a vice like grip and not return; he can't take it.

Selfish putz... Spend a week with a military family trying to make it on a meager salary & then spend a week with a rebel & his family in Syria & talk about sacrifice or wanting to protect your family.

Such a putz...
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 08 Mar 2012 @ 2:10

199.3.2012 10:35

Then you're a fool, anonzonefly.

209.3.2012 11:11

Originally posted by anonzonefly:
edited by ddp)
Just when you thought racism was dead/dying, this idiot who probably feels the 1st amendment protects his right to write this kind of tripe, drinks so heavily from the well of stupidity that his very asshole serves as a water sprinkler for any other unsuspecting idiot racist troll willing to read/hear such slander gets hit with the dumbing/numbing idiot inducing spray.

Way to help keep up our great US - Foreign relations dick hole.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 09 Mar 2012 @ 12:49

219.3.2012 12:05

Originally posted by LordRuss:
Originally posted by anonzonefly:
edited by ddp)
Just when you thought racism was dead/dying, this idiot who probably feels the 1st amendment protects his right to write this kind of tripe, drinks so heavily from the well of stupidity that his very asshole serves as a water sprinkler for any other unsuspecting idiot racist troll willing to read/hear such slander gets hit with the dumbing/numbing idiot inducing spray.

Way to help keep up our great US - Foreign relations dick hole.
Old Russ, you never disappoint. ;)
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 09 Mar 2012 @ 12:49

229.3.2012 12:50

idiot banned, posts edited.

239.3.2012 15:21

Originally posted by Scaldari:
Old Russ, you never disappoint. ;)
I'm never one to disappoint my audience. It's a shame I ruined my health to defend the right for someone like that to speak out like that.

Originally posted by ddp:
idiot banned, posts edited.
It's a shame, I thought I put it all into a proper context... Otherwise, all the other visitors will think I'm going into politics...

2410.3.2012 03:20

Lot of harsh words for a crook turning in other crooks. There is no moral code among thieves. We, law abiding people,should be cheering, of the possibility they will not get into our computers. Seems to be a lot of love here for the criminals and thugs. Just ssaying!

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 10 Mar 2012 @ 3:21

2510.3.2012 04:54

well you shouldnt backstab your m8s.you do something illegal take the punishment.if you do backstab your m8s and get them arrested and locked up keep your mouth shut about it the less everyone knows the better.

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