Quote:
Originally Posted by Babaganoosh
Inevitable?  |
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388749,00.asp
Busting Anonymous: Feds Arrest 14 Alleged PayPal Hackers, Two More
By Damon Poeter0digg
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday confirmed the arrests of 16 individuals for alleged cyberattacks by FBI agents, including 14 on charges related to their alleged involvement in an attack on PayPal's website by the loosely affiliated prankster and hacktivist group Anonymous.
The DOJ said more than 35 search warrants were executed in the U.S. and that five additional arrests were made in Europe as part of a global investigation of "coordinated cyber attacks against major companies and organizations."
The 14 alleged members of Anonymous were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Ohio. The individuals were arrested on charges contained in an indictment unsealed Tuesday in a California federal court in San Jose.
Two others were arrested on similar charges in complaints filed in Florida and New Jersey, while Dutch police arrested four more people and British authorities arrested one individual for allegedly related cyber crimes, the DOJ statement said.
The 14 individuals named in the San Jose indictment have been charged with allegedly participating in Anonymous' distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against PayPal's computer servers that began last December. Part of Anonymous' "Operation Payback" cyber attacks on credit card and payment companies, the attacks on PayPal were done in retribution for PayPal's suspension of WikiLeaks' PayPal accounts after WikiLeaks released classified U.S. State Department cables in November 2010.
The specific attacks on PayPal were dubbed "Operation Avenge Assange" within Anonymous circles, a reference to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to the San Jose indictment.
The individuals named in the San Jose indictment are: Christopher Wayne Cooper, 23, a.k.a. "Anthrophobic;" Joshua John Covelli, 26, a.k.a. "Absolem" and "Toxic;" Keith Wilson Downey, 26; Mercedes Renee Haefer, 20, a.k.a. "No" and "MMMM;" Donald Husband, 29, a.k.a. "Ananon;" Vincent Charles Kershaw, 27, a.k.a. "Trivette," "Triv," and "Reaper;" Ethan Miles, 33; James C. Murphy, 36; Drew Alan Phillips, 26, a.k.a. "Drew010;" Jeffrey Puglisi, 28, a.k.a. "Jeffer," "Jefferp," and "Ji;" Daniel Sullivan, 22; Tracy Ann Valenzuela, 42; and Christopher Quang Vo, 22. One indicted individual's name was withheld by the court.