Hacking group LulzSec brought down

The infamous hacking group responsible for hitting Sony, Nintendo, Bethesda, Epic, and Mojang has been shut down, according to a Fox News report.


'Sabu,' the alleged face of LulzSec. Photo credit: Fox News.
The report states law enforcement agents on two continents this morning arrested three "top members" of LulzSec (an offshoot of Anonymous) and charged two more with conspiracy. The agents were acting on evidence provided by alleged leader Hector Xavier Monsegur, aka "Sabu," (at right) who reportedly had been working with the government for months.

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

Sabu, an unemployed 28-year-old father of two, reportedly commanded a band of LulzSec hackers from a public housing project on the Lower East Side of New York.

According to the report, after Sabu was arrested in June, he cooperated with the FBI, providing information leading to today's arrests. The five charged with connection to LulzSec today were identified by sources as: Ryan Ackroyd, aka "Kayla," and Jake Davis, aka "Topiary," both of London; Darren Martyn, aka "pwnsauce," and Donncha O'Cearrbhail, aka "palladium," both of Ireland; and Jeremy Hammond, aka "Anarchaos," of Chicago.

Sabu pleaded guilty on August 15 to a dozen hacking charges. These included charges of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking, computer hacking, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The charges and other information regarding today's arrests are expected to be officially released by New York's Southern District Court sometime today.