LulzSec Strikes Again and Again. Hacker Arrested in Britain

LulzSec has been making some new friends and some powerful enemies over the weekend. Rumors that the group was feuding with Anonymous, another famous hacker consortium, proved to be little more than wishful thinking, now that the two groups have announced that they will be collaborating to take on banks and government agencies.

LulzSec announced that their, “Top priority is to steal and leak any classified government information, including email spools and documentation,” as part of Operation AntiSecurity (#AntiSec on Twitter). “Prime targets are banks and other high-ranking establishments,” the announcement continued. “If they try to censor our progress, we will obliterate the censor with cannonfire anointed with lizard blood.” They have even called on other hackers to join their ranks, saying, “Together we can defend ourselves so that our privacy is not overrun by profiteering gluttons.”

They have already begun. Recent hacks include InfraGard, an organization that describes itself as, “an association of businesses, academic institutions and law enforcement agencies dedicated to sharing information to prevent hostile acts against the United States.” Their major partner in this effort is the FBI.

This is the second time InfraGard has been hacked. An earlier hack involved the company’s Atlanta branch. The more recent one focused on its Connecticut branch.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., LulzSec hackers announced on Sunday that they have “blissfully obtained records of every single citizen who gave their records to the security-illiterate UK government for the 2011 census.” While obtaining census records may be bad enough, doing so “blissfully” is over the top, at least to the British government.

While some groups have questioned whether LulzSec has actually stolen the data or even whether they are behind the announcement, others are investigating how they might have stolen it. One possibility currently under investigation is through the British subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, which was in charge of running the British census. Lockheed Martin admits that their site was hacked last month, using information stolen from the security firm RSA.

Nevertheless, a recent tweet by LulzSec denies that it got its hands on the census data or that it plans to release it to the public. It states, “Not sure we claimed to hack the UK census or where that rumour started, but we assume it’s because people are stupider than you and I.” They later added, “Just saw the pastebin of the UK census hack. That wasn’t us – don’t believe fake LulzSec releases unless we put out a tweet first.”

Despite the uncertainty, both British and American security organizations are concerned about the possible breaches of their computer systems and are taking steps to catch the hackers. British police say that they have arrested a 19-year-old hacker at his home in Essex and seized computer equipment from his home. There have, however, been numerous LulzSec tweets since his arrest.

Furthermore, his arrest raises the question: If government organizations, including intelligence organizations, can be compromised by teenage hackers working from their bedrooms, how vulnerable are they to state-sponsored hacks by rival nations, supported by almost unlimited funding and computer power?