Accused British hacker charged in U.S. over LulzSec attacks

By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES | Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:21pm EDT

(Reuters) - An alleged member of the LulzSec hacking group who prosecutors say targeted the Fox and PBS television networks and Sony's film and TV studio has been indicted in Los Angeles on federal charges, federal authorities said on Wednesday.

Ryan Cleary, 20, who is already jailed in the United Kingdom where he faces prosecution over similar charges, is accused of joining other members of LulzSec in harnessing compromised computers, known as a "botnet," to steal confidential information, deface websites or attack servers. He was indicted on Tuesday.

LulzSec, an offshoot of the international hacking group Anonymous, has taken credit for hacking attacks on government and private sector websites.

Anonymous and its offshoots, including LulzSec and AntiSec, initially focused on fighting attempts at Internet regulation and the blocking of free illegal downloads, but have since taken on other targets including Scientology and the global banking system.

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