21 July 2011. Add:
16hackers-indict.pdf 16 Alleged Paypal Hackers Indictment July 21, 2011 (1.1MB)
19 July 2011
http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/sixteen-individuals-arrested-in-the-
united-states-for-alleged-roles-in-cyber-attacks
Sixteen Individuals Arrested in the United States for Alleged Roles in
Cyber Attacks
More Than 35 Search Warrants Executed in United States, Five Arrests in Europe
as Part of Ongoing Cyber Investigations
U.S. Department of Justice July 19, 2011
Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202)514-1888
WASHINGTONFourteen individuals were arrested today by FBI agents on
charges related to their alleged involvement in a cyber attack on PayPals
website as part of an action claimed by the group Anonymous,
announced the Department of Justice and the FBI. Two additional defendants
were arrested today on cyber-related charges.
The 14 individuals were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado,
the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and
Ohio on charges contained in an indictment unsealed today in the Northern
District of California in San Jose. In addition, two individuals were arrested
on similar charges in two separate complaints filed in the Middle District
of Florida and the District of New Jersey. Also today, FBI agents executed
more than 35 search warrants throughout the United States as part of an ongoing
investigation into coordinated cyber attacks against major companies and
organizations. Finally, the United Kingdoms Metropolitan Police Service
arrested one person and the Dutch National Police Agency arrested four
individuals today for alleged related cyber crimes.
According to the San Jose indictment, in late November 2010, WikiLeaks released
a large amount of classified U.S. State Department cables on its website.
Citing violations of the PayPal terms of service, and in response to
WikiLeaks release of the classified cables, PayPal suspended
WikiLeaks accounts so that WikiLeaks could no longer receive donations
via PayPal. WikiLeaks website declared that PayPals action
tried to economically strangle WikiLeaks.
The San Jose indictment alleges that in retribution for PayPals termination
of WikiLeaks donation account, a group calling itself Anonymous coordinated
and executed distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against PayPals
computer servers using an open source computer program the group makes available
for free download on the Internet. DDoS attacks are attempts to render computers
unavailable to users through a variety of means, including saturating the
target computers or networks with external communications requests, thereby
denying service to legitimate users. According to the indictment, Anonymous
referred to the DDoS attacks on PayPal as Operation Avenge Assange.
The defendants charged in the San Jose indictment allegedly conspired with
others to intentionally damage protected computers at PayPal from Dec. 6,
2010, to Dec. 10, 2010.
The individuals named in the San Jose indictment are: Christopher Wayne Cooper,
23, aka Anthrophobic; Joshua John Covelli, 26, aka
Absolem and Toxic; Keith Wilson Downey, 26; Mercedes
Renee Haefer, 20, aka No and MMMM; Donald Husband,
29, aka Ananon; Vincent Charles Kershaw, 27, aka
Trivette, Triv and Reaper; 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. One individuals name has been withheld by the court.
The defendants are charged with various counts of conspiracy and intentional
damage to a protected computer. They will make initial appearances throughout
the day in the districts in which they were arrested.
In addition to the activities in San Jose, Scott Matthew Arciszewski, 21,
was arrested today by FBI agents on charges of intentional damage to a protected
computer. Arciszewski is charged in a complaint filed in the Middle District
of Florida and made his initial appearance this afternoon in federal court
in Orlando, Fla.
According to the complaint, on June 21, 2011, Arciszewski allegedly accessed
without authorization the Tampa Bay InfraGard website and uploaded three
files. The complaint alleges that Arciszewski then tweeted about the intrusion
and directed visitors to a separate website containing links with instructions
on how to exploit the Tampa InfraGard website. InfraGard is a public-private
partnership for critical infrastructure protection sponsored by the FBI with
chapters in all 50 states.
Also today, a related complaint unsealed in the District of New Jersey charges
Lance Moore, 21, of Las Cruces, N.M., with allegedly stealing confidential
business information stored on AT&Ts servers and posting it on
a public file sharing site. Moore was arrested this morning at his residence
by FBI agents and is expected to make an initial appearance this afternoon
in Las Cruces federal court. Moore is charged in with one count of accessing
a protected computer without authorization.
According to the New Jersey complaint, Moore, a customer support contractor,
exceeded his authorized access to AT&Ts servers and downloaded
thousands of documents, applications and other files that, on the same day,
he allegedly posted on a public file-hosting site that promises user anonymity.
According to the complaint, on June 25, 2011, the computer hacking group
LulzSec publicized that they had obtained confidential AT&T documents
and made them publicly available on the Internet. The documents were the
ones Moore had previously uploaded.
The charge of intentional damage to a protected computer carries a maximum
penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of conspiracy
carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An indictment and a complaint merely contain allegations. Defendants are
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt
in a court of law.
To date, more than 75 searches have taken place in the United States as part
of the ongoing investigations into these attacks.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the U.S.
Attorneys Offices for the Northern District of California, Middle District
of Florida, and the District of New Jersey. The Criminal Divisions
Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section also has provided assistance.
Todays operational activities were done in coordination with the
Metropolitan Police Service in the United Kingdom and the Dutch National
Police Agency. The FBI thanks the multiple international, federal, and domestic
law enforcement agencies who continue to support these operations.
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