US prosecutors announced charges against alleged members of the hacking groups LulzSec and Anonymous, revealing that LulzSec’s leader, Hector Xavier Monsegur, known as Sabu, had secretly pleaded guilty and was cooperating with the FBI.
What happened
- Monsegur had pleaded guilty in August 2011 to 12 counts, including computer hacking conspiracies.
- Those charged included Ryan Ackroyd and Jake Davis in the UK, and Darren Martyn and Donncha O’Cearbhaill in Ireland.
- Jeremy Hammond was arrested in Chicago in connection with the December 2011 hack of intelligence firm Stratfor, which affected around 860,000 subscribers and 60,000 credit cards.
- Prosecutors said the groups’ attacks, on targets including PBS, Sony Pictures, and Fox, had affected more than a million victims between 2010 and 2011.
Why it mattered
The coordinated arrests across the US, UK, and Ireland effectively dismantled LulzSec and showed how an informant could expose an entire hacking network.
Lessons for organisations
The Stratfor breach, which exposed stored card details, is a reminder to avoid storing payment data unless strictly necessary and to meet PCI DSS where it is. Patch and test public-facing web applications regularly.
Sources: US Department of Justice, Forbes
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