Man arrested over 'hacktivist' attacks

Wednesday, 27 July 2011 5:19 PM

By Ian Dunt Follow @IanDunt

Police have arrested a 19-year-old man who is believed to be linked to 'hacktivist' groups Anonymous and LulzSec.

The arrest marks the first significant British police development in its attempt to prevent the group disabling business websites across the world.

The Met said it arrested the individual, who uses the online moniker 'Topiary', over alleged links to both groups as part of an international, intelligence-led operation.

He was arrested at a residential address in the Shetland Islands and is currently being transported to central London while the address is searched.

A 17-year-old is being interviewed under caution in connection with the inquiry. He has not been arrested.

The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into various distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against international businesses and intelligence agencies by what is
believed to be the same hacking group.

Anonymous hit the front pages when it started a debilitating campaign against companies who had withdrawn their services from Wikileaks, following intense pressure from the US government.

The group itself is thought to have been engaged in hacktivism since 2003, although some observers say it is more of a loose-knit collection of campaigners than a cohesive unit.

LulzSec is a more distinct entity. It recently claimed responsibility for the compromise of user accounts from Sony's online network. A later statement suggested the attack was designed to show users how weak Sony's security arrangements were.
 

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• anonymous
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• hackitvism