Two more arrested in Anonymous investigation
The Metropolitan Police Service's Central e-Crime Unit has arrested two men who are suspected of being involved with hacking activities being carried out by the groups Anonymous and LulzSec.
The arrests were made on Thursday in Mexborough, Doncaster, South Yorkshire and Warminster, Wiltshire. According to a statement from the Met, computer equipment was removed from the Doncaster address for forensic examination. One of the men is 24 years old and the other 20.
"The arrests relate to our enquiries into a series of serious computer intrusions and online denial-of-service attacks recently suffered by a number of multi-national companies, public institutions and government and law enforcement agencies in Great Britain and the United States," the PCeU's detective inspector Mark Raymond said.
"We are working to detect and bring before the courts those responsible for these offences, to disrupt such groups, and to deter others thinking of participating in this type of criminal activity."
The two men are believed to have some involvement with suspected offences made under the online pseudonym 'Kayla'.
Several people have been charged as a result of the investigation, which is being carried out in collaboration with the FBI, South Yorkshire Police and other law enforcement bodies. On Thursday, the Met charged Christopher Jan Weatherhead (20) from Chester and Ashley Rhodes (26) from London.
Peter David Gibson (22) from Hartlepool will appear at the same 7 September hearing as Weatherhead and Rhodes, as will an unnamed 17-year-old from Chester. The 19-year-olds Jake Davis — suspected of being LulzSec leader 'Topiary' — and Ryan Cleary, from the Shetland Islands and Essex respectively, will enter pleas in January.
The attacks made by Anonymous and LulzSec have combined prankishness with more serious matters, such as the publication of user details taken from the systems of entertainment companies. Much of the hacking seems to have been politically driven, with alleged victims ranging from the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) to the CIA, the US Senate and the NHS.