LulzSec leader Sabu was working for us, says FBI

[Supreme_Warlord]

Link

The FBI has struck a major blow against hacking groups after arresting or charging five key members of the LulzSec hacking crew and revealing that the head of the group, who went by the nickname "Sabu", has been working for it since the middle of 2011.

Hector Xavier Monsegur, known as Sabu, was charged with 12 criminal counts of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking and other crimes in court papers in Manhattan federal court.

Monsegur, an unemployed 28-year-old Puerto Rican living in New York, pleaded guilty to carrying out online attacks against PayPal and Mastercard, documents unsealed in a Manhattan court on Tuesday shows.

The charges were filed via a "criminal information" form, which means the suspect, Sabu, has likely been cooperating with the government.

Five other people – two in the UK, two in Ireland and one in Chicago – were either arrested or charged by the FBI on Tuesday.

LulzSec, a hacking crew of up to 10 people, and the hacking collective Anonymous have taken credit for carrying out a number of high-profile hacking actions against companies and institutions including the CIA, Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, Japan's Sony Corp and Mexican government websites.

But the explosive revelation that LulzSec's leader was cooperating with the FBI, even while he was claiming to hate the government, could lead to the arrest of other hackers within the broader Anonymous group.

It will also heighten distrust among the more powerful members of the collective – where paranoia about security always runs high anyway.

An FBI official was quoted by Fox News, which broke the story, as saying: "This is devastating to the organisation … we're chopping off the head of LulzSec."

LulzSec span out of Anonymous, the loose hacking collective, around the beginning of 2011, and engaged on a series of hacks into large and small organisations

But tensions within the group became evident from leaked chat logs published in June last year which showed Sabu, as the head of the group, struggling to maintain order as some members of the group worried that they had gone too far in attacking an FBI-affiliated site.

At that time, Sabu was still on the hackers' side – but according to Fox News, the FBI tracked him down, possibly with the help of information gathered by rival hackers such as The Jester, thought to be an ex-US military member who took against LulzSec and its objectives early on. He was one of a number of hackers who connected Sabu with Monsegur last year.

A key clue that Sabu might have been captured came last summer, when his Twitter feed – usually active almost around the clock – suddenly went quiet for roughly two months.

I am not very clued up about this topic so will refrain from comment but am posting it for its news value and comments from informed members.

[Sephirius]

He was stupid enough to make himself named and high profile. As soon as one distinguishes themselves from Anonymous (even if they allege to be part of said movement) they make themselves a target.

I bet the feds basically gave him an offer he couldn't refuse, jailtime or work for us.

[Sea Skimmer]

I'm sure they did. The minimal federal sentence for hacking is 1 year, and the max is 20 years IIRC. Multiply a mix of charges like that by a dozen and this is not good for mister idiot. Most people are going to cut a deal at that point.

[Nephtys]

Hahaha.

Anon. A 'hacking collective'. What a riot. There's more sweater-knitters than hackers on 4chan.

[Slacker]

I think they're still missing the point about 'chopping the head off'. No, you got a few of their guys. Maybe even their important guys. I'm not going to go and be a cheerleader for Anon or LulzSec here, but the whole point about how they do business is that there is no central organization or leadership, isn't it?

[Hawkwings]

Anon is unorganized and mob-driven. Lulzsec was not.

[Skywalker_T-65]

I'm not well equipped to comment on this either...but my brother is and I have been hearing nothing out of him other than 'evil FBI' for days now. That being said...I say go FBI. These hackers are idiots who really should stop trying to mess with the government. Especially Anonymous...with their whole 'government is evil...MUST TAKE IT DOWN!!!' thing (and my brother is a supporter so I should know). Lulzsec and Anon really need to stop before they get every one of their members arrested...our prison system can't handle it. I also find it a riot when my brother parrots out the 'We're not hackers! We're an idea' thing...so stupid...

[Ziggy Stardust]

I despise the arrogance and insecurity of the Anonymous group, and their bizarre attempts to forge an ideology out of acting like trolls. I think they are all petulant little asses who deserve any and all punishments the law can throw at them for their chicanery. I know, too, that they fancy themselves untouchable and smarter than everyone else, so I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when the FBI got a hold of them.

[Skywalker_T-65]

^Finally! You have no idea how good it is to find someone who agrees with me. Especially on the fact that they think their 'ideology' is anything other than acting like trolls. And then of course, my brother says they are going to hack the heck out of Sabu...thus disproving his claim that 'we aren't hackers!!'. Naturally (considering the Anon supporter status) everything that comes out of his mouth I can disprove...but that's a different story.

[Thanas]

What specific political actions on their parts do you two oppose and why?

[Skywalker_T-65]

What specific political actions on their parts do you two oppose and why?

I can't speak for my fellow Anon-opponent, but my problems stem from their view that the US government is broken beyond repair and needs to be taken completely apart (and of course, only they can do it). Also their constant attempts to take down the FBI and CIA websites whenever one of their little hacker buddies decides to get on their nerves. As for the why...I just don't see how a bunch of immature hackers (excuse me...Idealists... ) taking down the government and replacing it with their ideals is helping. Especially since every time they hack someone it costs a lot of money we don't have. I'll need to milk my brother for more info (wow...him liking Anon actually helps) and I'll get back to you later on more things. Thankfully they haven't actually done any true political actions (like forming the Anonymous Party...), but if they keep up with this...it could end badly.

[Thanas]

So...what specific actions they have performed over the last years do you oppose?

[Skywalker_T-65]

^Their multiple hacking actions (Sony, several FBI/CIA, etc). Granted a lot of my problems with them stem from stuff they want to do. Thankfully they haven't actually done it yet. I'll admit I got a little out of hand here...but when you listen to nothing but 'Anonymous F' Yeah!' all day it gets annoying. (PS, I don't swear, so I have to improvise)

I also lump some of the hacking things that Lulzsec did in with Anon, but despite the former groups claims to the contrary they are still working with Anon. Now, a lot of it (like I said above) is worry about what they are planing, since they haven't done much lately. Other than the aforementioned hacking incidents.

[Thanas]

Ok...why are their multiple hacking actions bad? Do you agree with what they were trying to protest?

[Skywalker_T-65]

Not really no. If they were actually protesting something that matters (like say what's going on in Syria right now) then sure, I would like them. The main problem with their 'protests' is that they fall down on closer examination. Look at the Sony incident...what exactly are they protesting there? Sony's share of the market? I vaguely remember Lulzsec saying that the Sony incident was to improve their security but...it looked more like an attempt to get the customer information. As for the FBI/CIA website things...that is petty revenge pure and simple. Every time the US government gets one of their members (the bigger ones) its an 'OMG MUST HACK FBI!!' moment. For a less vindictive reason as to why it is bad...think how much money is lost every time they hack a big company...I believe the tally I heard the last time the news talked about it was billions of dollars.

(PS, is this curiosity or do you like Anon? Just wondering...since you've gotten me curious now)

[Thanas]

Not really no. If they were actually protesting something that matters (like say what's going on in Syria right now) then sure, I would like them.

So....

the treatment of Bradley Manning, the torture scandal of US troops, the attempt to shut down wikileaks don't matter? Because I am very sure these three were all behind the hacks on the FBI/CIA/Mastercard. And I am also pretty sure the attempt on Son was partly a protest against Sony's actions.

is this curiosity or do you like Anon?

I don't very much care for them, but your picture of them seems to be based more on personal baggage than on actual facts.

[Aaron MkII]

So....

the treatment of Bradley Manning, the torture scandal of US troops, the attempt to shut down wikileaks don't matter? Because I am very sure these three were all behind the hacks on the FBI/CIA/Mastercard. And I am also pretty sure the attempt on Son was partly a protest against Sony's actions.

Did anything change in regards to those three, other then we know about it now?

[Thanas]

Apparently Manning gets standard treatment now.

[Aaron MkII]

Then they may have had at least one positive effect, good.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Oh...didn't realize those were part of it. And now I've gone and made a fool of myself...

Oh well, at least I am more informed now. Still won't support them (the take over government thing) but I won't be quite so opposed. Thanks for the info...I always like getting new stuff to think about.

[Ziggy Stardust]

So...what specific actions they have performed over the last years do you oppose?

Dammit, I can't seem to find any articles about it, because searching "Anonymous" on Google has a pretty low signal-to-noise ratio, and I haven't been able to narrow it down further with any terms.

In any case, some of their protests/actions have arguably been good, but it's not like Anonymous has a laser-like focus. They have a history of hacking and/or harassing people or businesses with little or no provocation. I know that they have 'attacked' people simply for publicly saying bad things about Anonymous, and I know there was one case especially where they decided that someone was a child molester and essentially forced the guy to move and cancel all of his accounts (and he wasn't a child molester, it turned out).

I don't know why I am having such a hard time finding articles about it, though. I remember a few months ago I got into a debate with someone over Anonymous and was able to find a number of stories about the less publicized hackings and harassments. Basically, they go after anyone they don't like, and in some circumstances those people are or may be bad, so the results are good.

[White Haven]

Lulzsec's name in particular is quite deliberately chosen. Their MO is to go after big, high-profile targets with consistently-poor security and compromise them utterly in a very high-profile fashion so that something actually gets done about it. Their perspective is that the IT people for these companies/government agencies have been saying for years that security needed investment and improvement, and were getting ignored, or that they stopped even bothering to say anything because they'd been ignored for so long. They hit them hard enough in the only place it can hurt the people running the show: the wallet. The idea is that it'll get companies and governments serious about security, and you know what? It works. Their methods produce a shitload of collateral damage, but they work. Security gets the money it really requires, and it gets improved.

My personal feelings on the matter are that they perform a valuable function in the worst possible way. That said, better possible ways often don't seem to work, especially not in the 'this needs to happen right now, if not yesterday' time-scale that computer security threats demand. That does not mean I think they are not criminals. They are people engaging in criminal acts and risking dire punishment for them to accomplish a goal. And in the final calculus, if their targets had proper security to begin with, Lulzsec would have been far less successful and high-profile in the first place. From their perspective if the job was being done properly, there wouldn't be a 'need' for them to take it on themselves to force the issue.

[Skywalker_T-65]

(Hopefully I don't make an idiot of myself again...)

Lulzsec is slightly better than Anon, that I will admit. Still criminals, but at least they are doing something good (in a round-about way). I hate the method (as that discussion with Thanas shows) and hate the groups, but at least Lulzsec is trying to help...somehow...and not take over the government while forming a cult like Anon (unless my brother is talking to crazy members that is what I gather Anon is doing from him).

[White Haven]

Anonymous is...spotty. A lot of what they do is just trolling and vandalism. Every so often, though, a real cause will flit across their ritalin-drenched attention span, and they'll go savage someone or something deserving. Their methods are crude, and often poorly-targeted, but they tend to pick deserving targets somewhat more often than the stopped-clock effect would suggest. Also, cult, taking over the government...what the fuck are you on about?

[Skywalker_T-65]

Ask my brother...

Serious note though, the last couple of weeks he has been going on about how Anon is not a group of hackers but rather an 'idea' and they are going to tear down the United States government and replace it with their own ideals. Like I said in the above post...he may be listening to the more crazy members. All I get out of him is second hand...and if that is really how that group feels I'm staying far away from them. The cult thing is a jab at how he acts like Anon is the second coming of Jesus.

EDIT: Also, I doubt half of what he says is true...I just put it up to figure out if what he says is true or not...personally I don't know enough first hand information to say much. And just because my brother is crazy doesn't mean I am...if Anon doesn't really act like that let me know and I won't bring up his moronic ideas again.