On March 8th, 2012, N.R. Kleinfield and Somini Sengupta wrote an extremely interesting article for the New York Times on Hector Xavier Monsegur, the hacker better known as Sabu.  Sabu was the most talented hacker and de-facto leader of the hacking group Lulzsec, an offshoot of Anonymous.  LulzSec gained notoriety for going on a hacking binge and generally thumbing its nose at the US government.  On Tuesday, news broke that the FBI had arrested several members of Lulzsec with Sabu's help.

The NYT article gave a fascinating background of Sabu's life.  Operating out of NYC public housing, Sabu was the most prolific hacker amongst LulzSec's members.  He played an influential role in targeting Visa, PayPal, Sony, MasterCard, the CIA, and the governments of Zimbabwe, Algeria, Yemen, and Tunisia.  Sabu came to Lulzsec "not some cape-wearing hero, . . . [but to] counter abuse."  He portrayed himself as a hacktivist, fighting the good fight.  He would even attempt to fix his neighbor's credit scores.

Yet the NYT article also presented a different side to Sabu.  Despite openly criticizing the federal government, Sabu acted as an informant for the FBI and led his fellow hackers into a trap.  This Wall Street Journal article portrayed him as a drug dealer who carried a gun and posed as a federal agent.  Most damning, Sabu admitted that "he applied his hacking skills not simply for laughs or noble causes but for money."  Indeed, he ended up stealing nearly $3,500 in auto parts by using his hacking skills. 

The NYT article didn't paint a picture of some noble hacktivist.  Rather, it painted a picture of an opportunist, a traitor, and a common criminal.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a criminal would turn in his own, or that a hacker would steal car parts.  Yet in light of the bold anti-government rhetoric, the lofty claims of defending against government abuse, and the us-against the world mentality, there's a delicious irony that one of Anonymous' most revered personalities was neither noble nor loyal.  

You can find the NYT source article here.

***

FederalNewsRadio.com has an AP story written by David B. Caruso that says that Sabu "began talking, naming names, and helping [the FBI]" from the minute that the FBI showed up at his door.  One AUSA said that Sabu worked with the government around the clock, "engaging in conversations with co-conspirators" to build cases against those co-conspirators.

On March 8th, 2012, N.R. Kleinfield and Somini Sengupta wrote an extremely interesting article for the New York Times on Hector Xavier Monsegur, the hacker better known as Sabu.  Sabu was the most talented hacker and de-facto leader of the hacking group Lulzsec, an offshoot of Anonymous.  LulzSec gained notoriety for going on a hacking binge and generally thumbing its nose at the US government.  On Tuesday, news broke that the FBI had arrested several members of Lulzsec with Sabu's help.

The NYT article gave a fascinating background of Sabu's life.  Operating out of NYC public housing, Sabu was the most prolific hacker amongst LulzSec's members.  He played an influential role in targeting Visa, PayPal, Sony, MasterCard, the CIA, and the governments of Zimbabwe, Algeria, Yemen, and Tunisia.  Sabu came to Lulzsec "not some cape-wearing hero, . . . [but to] counter abuse."  He portrayed himself as a hacktivist, fighting the good fight.  He would even attempt to fix his neighbor's credit scores.

Yet the NYT article also presented a different side to Sabu.  Despite openly criticizing the federal government, Sabu acted as an informant for the FBI and led his fellow hackers into a trap.  This Wall Street Journal article portrayed him as a drug dealer who carried a gun and posed as a federal agent.  Most damning, Sabu admitted that "he applied his hacking skills not simply for laughs or noble causes but for money."  Indeed, he ended up stealing nearly $3,500 in auto parts by using his hacking skills. 

The NYT article didn't paint a picture of some noble hacktivist.  Rather, it painted a picture of an opportunist, a traitor, and a common criminal.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a criminal would turn in his own, or that a hacker would steal car parts.  Yet in light of the bold anti-government rhetoric, the lofty claims of defending against government abuse, and the us-against the world mentality, there's a delicious irony that one of Anonymous' most revered personalities was neither noble nor loyal.  

You can find the NYT source article here.

***

FederalNewsRadio.com has an AP story written by David B. Caruso that says that Sabu "began talking, naming names, and helping [the FBI]" from the minute that the FBI showed up at his door.  One AUSA said that Sabu worked with the government around the clock, "engaging in conversations with co-conspirators" to build cases against those co-conspirators.