Official: Hackers from Anonymous spin-off arrested

NEW YORK - March 6, 2012 (WPVI) -- Top members of the computer hacking group LulzSec have been arrested and will face charges in New York, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.

Five people with the group were either under arrest or being sought, the official said. The details of the allegations weren't immediately available, but were expected to be made public in court documents being unsealed Tuesday morning.

The group also goes by the full name Lulz Security. Hackers associated with the group have claimed to be responsible for a variety of cyber attacks on big companies, law enforcement and government agencies.

The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges hadn't yet been officially announced.

LulzSec is a spin-off of the loosely organized hacking collective Anonymous. Its members attained notoriety last May by attacking the website of the public broadcaster PBS and posting a story claiming that the slain rapper Tupac Shakur was alive and living in New Zealand.

Some alleged associates of the group are already facing charges elsewhere. An English teenager, Ryan Cleary, was arrested by British law enforcement in June and charged with being linked to the group. In July, a reputed LulzSec spokesman, Jake Davis, was arrested in Scotland.

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computers, hacking, new york, national/world

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