A teenager believed to be a leading member of the Anonymous and LulzSec online activist groups appeared in a London court on Monday charged with hacking offences including an attack on Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Eighteen-year-old Jake Davis, who goes by the online nickname of “Topiary”, was charged with five offences under the Computer Misuse Act and other acts, including unauthorised use of a computer system.
Anonymous and LulzSec members have been arrested in the United States, Spain, Turkey, Britain and the Netherlands in a recent crackdown on attacks against targets including the CIA, Sony and Rupert Murdoch’s media empire .
The arrest of “Topiary” in Scotland’s remote Shetland Islands may be the most significant to date in the global effort to end the cyber-crime spree by the groups, who describe themselves as fighters for Internet freedom.
Davis was released on bail after agreeing to stay at his family home under strict terms. He will have no Internet access and will live under a curfew.
