Last appeared in Mercury News
A group of expert hackers who attacked governments and
corporations around the globe has been busted after its ringleader -- one of
the world's most-wanted and most-feared computer vandals -- turned against his
comrades and secretly became an informant for the FBI months ago, authorities
announced Tuesday.
Five people, including a Chicago man, were charged in court
papers unsealed in federal court in New York, and authorities revealed that a
sixth person, Hector Xavier Monsegur, a legendary figure known in the hacking
underworld as "Sabu," has pleaded guilty in New York, where he lives.
Authorities said it marked the first significant prosecution
of major Internet hackers.
According to court papers, members of the group got their
start as part of a large worldwide hacking organization known as Anonymous,
which authorities said has been operating at least since 2008. Court papers
accused Anonymous of a "deliberate campaign of online destruction,
intimidation and criminality."
In chat rooms and on Twitter, Anonymous supporters erupted
into a chorus of disappointment, confusion and anger. Some wondered whether the
news was an elaborate fraud.
As members of Anonymous surveyed the damage Tuesday, one of
its most popular Twitter feeds assured its followers that it was still OK.
"We're sailing close to the wind," the feed read.
"Our crew is complete and doing fine."
Monsegur was portrayed in court papers as the ringleader of
some of the group's more infamous deeds. Authorities said he formed an elite
hacking organization last May -- a spinoff of Anonymous -- and named it
"Lulz Security" or "LulzSec." "Lulz" is Internet
slang that can mean "laughs" or "amusement."
Despite the organization's lighthearted name, authorities
said Monsegur and his followers embarked on a dastardly stream of deeds against
business and government entities in the U.S. and around the world, resulting in
the theft of confidential information, the defacing of websites and attacks
that temporarily put victims out of business.
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