Ryan Cleary, the 20-year-old Briton arrested over attacks on Fox and PBS television networks, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles.
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| LulzSec 'hacker' Ryan Cleary |
Cleary, who is already jailed in the United Kingdom where he faces prosecution
over similar charges, is accused of joining other members of LulzSec in
harnessing compromised computers, known as a "botnet," to steal
confidential information, deface websites or attack servers. He was indicted
on Tuesday.
"Cleary is a skilled hacker. He controlled his own botnet, employed
sophisticated methods and his broad geographic scope affected a large number
of businesses and individuals," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
LulzSec, an offshoot of the international hacking group Anonymous, has taken
credit for hacking attacks on government and private sector websites.
Anonymous and its offshoots, including LulzSec and AntiSec, initially focused
on fighting attempts at internet regulation and the blocking of free illegal
downloads, but have since taken on such targets as Scientology and the
global banking system.
The charges come just over two months after accused LulzSec hacker Cody
Kretsinger pleaded guilty in US
District Court in Los Angeles to taking part in an extensive computer breach
of Sony Corp's Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In March, court documents revealed that Anonymous leader "Sabu,"
whose real name is Hector Xavier Monsegur, had pleaded guilty to
hacking-related charges and provided the FBI with information on fellow
hackers.
According to the indictment released by the FBI, Cleary and his unnamed co-conspirators hacked into the computer systems of News Corp's Fox Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Entertainment and stole confidential user information.
The indictment also charges Cleary and his co-conspirators of defacing the PBS website and launching "denial of service" attacks against an online gaming website and Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency.
Cleary is charged with one count of conspiracy and two counts of unauthorised impairment of a protected computer. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Eimiller said federal authorities would "allow the prosecution to take its course" against Cleary overseas before deciding whether to seek his extradition to the United States. He is next scheduled to be in court in the UK on June 25.
Anonymous, and LulzSec in particular, became notorious in late 2010 when they launched what they called the "first cyber war" in retaliation for attempts to shut down the WikiLeaks website.
They attacked websites including those of MasterCard Inc, which had tried to block payments to WikiLeaks after apparent pressure from the US government following the release of thousands of diplomatic cables.
Source: agencies
According to the indictment released by the FBI, Cleary and his unnamed co-conspirators hacked into the computer systems of News Corp's Fox Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Entertainment and stole confidential user information.
The indictment also charges Cleary and his co-conspirators of defacing the PBS website and launching "denial of service" attacks against an online gaming website and Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency.
Cleary is charged with one count of conspiracy and two counts of unauthorised impairment of a protected computer. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Eimiller said federal authorities would "allow the prosecution to take its course" against Cleary overseas before deciding whether to seek his extradition to the United States. He is next scheduled to be in court in the UK on June 25.
Anonymous, and LulzSec in particular, became notorious in late 2010 when they launched what they called the "first cyber war" in retaliation for attempts to shut down the WikiLeaks website.
They attacked websites including those of MasterCard Inc, which had tried to block payments to WikiLeaks after apparent pressure from the US government following the release of thousands of diplomatic cables.
Source: agencies
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