Feds Arrest 14 Suspects in 'Anonymous' Hack Attacks on Corporate Targets, Raid Dozens More
Executing 35 search warrants in a nationwide sweep today, federal agents arrested 14 suspects in a probe of alleged distributed denial of service (DDos) hack attacks on corporate targets by the group known as Anonymous and raided dozens more.
An alleged cyberattack on PayPal, after the online payment conduit terminated a WikiLeaks donation account, is at the center of the case, according to Fox News.
A post on the Threat Level blog of Wired says additional suspects were arrested in Europe.
Most of the suspects were charged under a San Jose, Calif., conspiracy warrant that identifies many not only by name but by their online moniker.
They are: Christopher Wayne Cooper, 23, also known as Anthrophobic; Joshua John Covelli, 26, aka Absolem and Toxic; Keith Wilson Downey, 26; Mercedes Renee Haefer, 20, aka MMMM and No; Donald Husband, 29, aka Ananon; Vincent Charles Kershaw, 27, aka Reaper, Triv and Trivette; Ethan Miles, 33; James C. Murphy, 36; Drew Alan Phillips, 26, aka Drew010; Jeffrey Puglisi, 28, aka Jeffer, Jefferp and Ji; Daniel Sullivan, 22; Tracy Ann Valenzuela, 42; and Christopher Quang Vo, 22.
Two others, arrested under warrants issued in Tampa, Florida and Newark, New Jersey, respectively, are Scott Matthew Arciszewski, 21, charged with intentional damage to a protected computer, and Lance Moore, 21, charged with accessing a protected computer without authorization. It’s not clear that they are accused of being members of Anonymous.
Another person’s name was withheld by court order.
The articles don’t include any comment from the suspects or their counsel.
Additional coverage:
CNN Justice: “14 arrested in operation targeting Anonymous”
Daily Mail: “FBI raid three homes in New York of members of computer hacking group Anonymous
WFTV: “FBI Agents Raid Dorms At UCF In Cyber Bust”
