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Topic: United Kingdom

LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

Summary: 'Topiary', one of the spokespeople for hacktivist group LulzSec, has been arrested in Scotland, police in London confirm.

Zack Whittaker

By for iGeneration |

The spokesperson of LulzSec, the group behind a series of high profile hacks in the past few months, has been arrested by police.

In a statement by the Metropolitan Police in London, a 19-year-old known as 'Topiary' was arrested at an address in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland.

According to the statement issued by Scotland Yard, a residential address in the Shetlands is being searched. Another teenager in Lincolnshire, in the east of England, is being questioned under police caution, though has not been arrested.

'Topiary', real name unknown, is currently being transported from the Shetlands to a police station in London, where is expected to be charged with offenses related to cybercrime, hacking and network intrusions.

Believed to have been behind the Twitter account @LulzSec, there has been no update to the stream in over six hours at time of publication.

Last month, LulzSec announced that it would disband after fifty days of high profile hacks. It was only a few days after 'AntiSec', an operation named in response to poor security by high profile targets, was announced.

LulzSec and 4chan inspired group Anonymous have since joined forces to carry on the AntiSec movement.

This comes on the day that both LulzSec and Anonymous call upon their followers to boycott PayPalin response to its refusal to release funds relating to the ongoing Wikileaks trial.

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Topics: United Kingdom, Security

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37 comments
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  • For now, I do not see much of 'evil' and 'corruption' in the actions of ...

    these teens. They did not sell their hacks for money and they do not do it for malicious purposes. PayPal's "business ethics" is indeed in question, there is no legal way for them to block money that send to pay defence lawyers of Wikileaks. <b>That PayPal's doing is pretty classless.</b>
    DDERSSS
    Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @DeRSSS If covertly going in to a computer that doesn't belong to you without permission and looking at information that isn't meant for you doesn't count as 'evil' or 'corrupt', then you seriously need to re-examine your priorities.
      I12BPhil
      Reply Vote

      • The 'evil' and 'corrupt' has to be in the intention/motive, and there is no

        @I12BPhil: ... such thing yet. And these teenagers hardly "looked" at any private sensitive information of people. And there are no reports that any concrete people whose accounts on PSN or elsewhere were exposed had any harm because of it, except for the inconvenience of the correspoding services being locked up for the fixing of their lousy "security" systems.

        So the society actually gained the good from these actions, which are formally illegal.
        DDERSSS
        Reply Vote

      • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

        @I12BPhil Right. I wonder what DeRSSS would have thought if his email address and password would have been in the list of those released.
        skippe93
        Reply Vote

      • What I would have thought? No harm besides temporary shutdown of the ...

        @skippe93: ... service to fix the lousy "security" system.
        DDERSSS
        Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @DeRSSS How is it not malicious to intentionally bring down a service provided by a corporation or reveal Law Enforcement Officers private information? It doesn't matter that they had poor security, to intentionally cause harm to an organization or person is Malicious. <br><br>Paypal has chosen to not process payments to an organization that very well could be classified as a enemy agent by the United States Government. It would be illegal for them to process funds for such an organization knowingly. The fact that Wikileaks has been involved in releasing information acquired as the result of espionage PayPal has little choice in the matter.
      cwbuechler@...
      Reply Vote

    • the ends justifying the means, you mean.

      @DeRSSS

      I'm one who doesn't always believe in the simpler view of things, where a good outcome means that the process to achieve it was ok.
      They knowingly broke many rules, and thus, they knowingly chose these consequences. Simple cause and effect.

      That said, their petition and push for the simple boycott of paypal is one that I agree with, support and endorse. I've boycotted paypal as much as practically able, for years now.
      shryko
      Reply Vote

      • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

        @shryko
        So the ends justify the means? Wow that is pretty messed up. There have been a lot of really evil things done in history for the good of the public and people. How about we let corporations do whatever they want or require to do to make money for their shareholders since maximizing shareholder's profit is a good end result.
        tim.w.jung@...
        Reply Vote

    • They're not as good as you think

      @DeRSSS <br><br>actually, they tried to blackmail a company, unless the owner paid up. Also, they released thousands of emails to the public.<br><br>They don't like a decision made by Paypal, so they attack the company. I would say that's pretty malicious.
      chronostorm
      Reply Vote

      • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

        @chronostorm <br>Unveillance?<br>Yes, a company who was trying to pay them to go after their competitors......
        They got exactly what they deserve.
        jamisonmaxwell
        Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @DeRSSS So if I break into your house later and steal your important documents and info it's cool right? I'm not doing it for malicious purposes I'm just showcasing how weak your home security is. A crime is a crime regardless of the intent behind it.
      Str0b0
      Reply Vote

      • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

        @Str0b0 @Str0b0
        - lol - they did not steal anbything, they just made copys.
        amckern
        Reply Vote

  • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

    While I do not participate in the cracking that these groups do, I simply do not posses the skills, I'm a sys admin. I do openly support the reasons why they are carrying out these attacks. @I12BPhil I would ask the same thing of folks burining their draft cards during American Vietnam, Rosa Parks refusing to move from her seat, all of Mohatmas Gandhi's arrests or any other of the countless people throughout history who have refused to obey "laws" that were unjust. One has to remember that there is a darn good reason these people are doing this, and not just to get money to Wikileaks. For instance, take a look at the new IP laws that are before U.S Congress. If U.S passes some hogwash of this nature, how long do you think before everyone else does. Remember, no country owns the Internet, I would akin it to a country taxing air.
    jamisonmaxwell
    Reply Vote

  • &quot;boycott PayPalin&quot; :v

    I apologize for the lighthearted comment amid the more serious ones, but that missing space made me chuckle. ^^
    SenorAlejandro
    Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @SenorAlejandro

      Yeah, I was just about to comment on the spellcheck fail to Sarah Palin's PayPal myself. It was a good Thursday laugh though.
      wcb42ad
      Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @SenorAlejandro Lol I thought it was intentional XD
      vahnx
      Reply Vote

  • The 'evil' and 'corrupt' has to be in the intention/motive ...

    @DeRSSS
    I guess it would be ok with you if I picked the lock on your door so I could come in and take a look around. After all, if I don't steal anything, there is no bad intent, right?
    impcad
    Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @impcad What country do you live in - it might be 'yes'?
      amckern
      Reply Vote

  • Only the intent matters?

    I've been telling people for years that wooden structures are too vulnerable to fire for use as human habitation. So when I walk around the neighborhood with a wheelbarrow full of gas cans and demonstrate my point in the wee hours of the morning, I don't see why people get all upset. My intent is only to encourage safer building practices, and if a few families perish in the night, that just helps illuminate my point. It's not like I'm a criminal; I'm just encouraging society to build safer homes.

    Abstract ideals have nothing to do with criminality. If you deliberately cause harm, you're liable to arrest and prosecution.
    kidtree
    Reply Vote

    • RE: LulzSec 'spokesperson' arrested by Scotland Yard

      @kidtree
      Yes I agree, provided that the builders of everyone's home in that neighborhood told them that they built their houses out of fire retardent material.
      jamisonmaxwell
      Reply Vote
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