Feeds

UK cops arrest five in Anonymous attacks probe

Suspects aged 15 to 26 cuffed in raids

Mitigating web security risk with SSL certificates

Scotland Yard has arrested five people under the Computer Misuse Act as part of its investigation into alleged attacks by the Anonymous hacking collective.

The five males - aged, 15, 16, 19, 20 and 26 - were arrested in a series of co-ordinated raids on Thursday morning by detectives from Scotland Yard's Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU).

The raids took place in the West Midlands, Northants, Herts, Surrey and London as part of an ongoing investigation into Anonymous. All five unnamed suspects were taken to local police stations for questioning.

"The arrests are in relation to recent and ongoing 'distributed denial of service' attacks (DDoS) by an online group calling themselves 'Anonymous'," a brief statement by the PCeU explains.

The loose-knit Anonymous collective has invited volunteers to download its LOIC denial of service tool in order to swamp targeted sites with junk traffic. The use of the tool took off with attacks against the entertainment industry and organisations, such as controversial solicitors ACS:Law. Much the same approach was applied against financial service organisations, such as Mastercard and PayPal, which suspended accounts maintained by WikiLeaks.

The LOIC does a poor job of preserving users' anonymity, hence the risk for anyone using it that they may come to the attention of local law enforcement agencies. ®

Business security measures using SSL

More from The Register

next story
What a pity: Rollout of hated UK smart meters delayed again
Diddums. 'No feasible way to maintain time-scales' - Crapita
UK slaps 25 per cent 'Google Tax' on tech multinationals
Tell us, Chancellor, how you plan to tax 'profitless' firms
Give nerds their own PRIVATE TRAIN CARRIAGES, say boffins
The Thinkfluencers' Express will depart from platform 94 5/4...
Randall Munroe: The root nerd talks to The Register
XKCD creator on life, the universe and everything
DEAD STEVE JOBS accuses Real Networks of 'hacking' iPods
Fruity firm's co-founder testifies from BEYOND the GRAVE
UK national mobile roaming: A stupid idea that'll never work
Plus: Not spot rural mobile coverage sites each require NINETEEN signatures
Oh dear, traders: Banker bosses are monitoring your smoke breaks
Note to big data spies: must notify data protection authorities
Home Office: Fancy flogging us some SECRET SPY GEAR?
If you do, tell NOBODY what it's for or how it works
prev story

Whitepapers

Four customers who never have to replace their PCs again
Reallocate your budget to deliver employee mobility paired with IT management efficiency and corporate security.
Focus on 5 SIEM requirements
In order for SIEM to help usher in more effective security and risk management strategies—particularly as they relate to threat mitigation, embracing trends, and aligning with business priorities—these five issues must be solved.
The Escalating Threat of DDoS Attacks
With increasing frequency and scale, some of the world’s largest data center and network operators are suffering from crippling Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
Reg Reader Research: SaaS based Email and Office Productivity Tools
Read this Reg reader report which provides advice and guidance for SMBs towards the use of SaaS based email and Office productivity tools.
Personalisation in Drupal
Simplify personalization, empowering marketers and site builders to build immersive and automated personalised digital experiences.