The FBI, Scotland Yard and Metropolitan Police apprehended a resident of Essex on Tuesday, on suspicion of being a part of LulzSec and/or Anonymous, groups that have taken credit for many of the most recent cyber attacks against web properties of a variety of institutions, from the CIA, IMF to Sony and X-Factor. LulzSec in the meanwhile, laughed the matter off, tweeting:
Seems the glorious leader of LulzSec got arrested, it’s all over now… wait… we’re all still here! Which poor bastard did they take down?
According to a few more tweets by LulzSec, Ryan Clearly, the guy the authorities arrested, was not actually part of the hacker group, just a host of an Internet Relay Chat server:
“We house one of our many legitimate chatrooms on his IRC server, but that’s it…We use Ryan’s server, we also use Efnet, 2600, Rizon and AnonOps IRC servers. That doesn’t mean they’re all part of our group…Clearly the UK police are so desperate to catch us that they’ve gone and arrested someone who is, at best, mildly associated with us. Lame.”
LulzSec went on to very publically rat out the snitches within their group, who’d leaked Mr. Cleary as a suspect:
“Hi FBI & other law enforcement clowns,
LulzSec here with some juicy gossip.
[contact details of m_nerva aka cimx aka rq42 and hann]These goons begged us for mercy after they apologized to us all night for leaking some of our affiliates’ logs. There is no mercy on The Lulz Boat.
Snitches get stitches,
Lulz Security”
Things might not be as nearly as worry-free as LulzSec is painting them all out to be. While only a minor link in the chain, the arrest could uncover some revealing data about the groups involved. The authorities have also confiscated Cleary’s computers, which they say have a lot of information. Of course, police will also be speaking to the two exposed snitches. Other reports also say that Cleary was a part of the WikiLeaks group as well.
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In the meanwhile however, LulzSec seems to have data from the recent, rumoured UK 2011 Census hack, though it does not take credit for it. The group said it would be releasing the data when it was properly formatted. The activity does point to some smooth sailing for the Lulz Boat even in the midst of all this action.
It’s believed that LulzSec is a faction of Anonymous, and the two groups have shown some solidarity so far. A recent announcement by the two groups said they are teaming up in what they call the AntiSec campaign, intending to take on banks, government agencies, and other high-profile institutions all across the world. They are also encouraging other hackers to help steal and leak classified information.
“Oldschool Internet is back. Anarchy is now – spread “AntiSec” whenever and wherever you can. Is saying ‘hackers unite’ too cheesy? :D”
A Twitter account associated with Anonymous commented on the arrest:
RIP Ryan. Narced by m_nerva aka cimx aka rq42 and hann. Ryan hosted IRC for ED and other chans. Had nothing to do with lulzsec.
The group’s logo