Alleged LulzSec Hacker ‘Does Not Face Immediate Extradition’

Accused LulzSec hacker Ryan Cleary may not face extradition in connection with his recent indictment in the United States.

Cleary, who is a British citizen, is facing charges in the UK related to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the country’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) websites as well as other sites.

CIA attacks

On 12 June a grand jury in California returned an indictment against Cleary alleging he ran a botnet used to launch DDoS attacks on behalf of Lulz Security, also known as LulzSec. LulzSec registered on law enforcement’s radar in 2011 after a number of high-profile DDoS attacks targeting companies such as Sony Entertainment and the CIA. The group publicised its exploits on Twitter.

According to The Telegraph, a spokesperson for the US embassy said the US “is not making any request of the UK regarding Ryan Cleary’s extradition at this time”.

Cleary’s attorney, Karen Todner, was quoted as saying that any attempt to extradite Cleary would be “fiercely contested”.

”Mr. Cleary suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and is on the autistic spectrum and extradition to the United States is totally undesirable,” she said.

The indictment in the US alleges Cleary hacked Fox’s website and stole confidential information belonging to people auditioning for the television show “The X-Factor”. Clearly is also accused of attacking Sony Entertainment to steal information and hacking PBS’s website after PBS aired a documentary he believed to be critical of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Other charges

The indictment against Cleary in the US follows charges being brought earlier this year against six people involved in a series of attacks. Among those charged was Xavier Monsegur of New York City, also known as Sabu, who was also revealed to have been a government informant after secretly pleading guilty to last August to his involvement in attacks on HBGary and HBGary Federal as well as Sony, Fox, PBS and Infragard Members Alliance.

Cleary faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if he is eventually tried and convicted of the charges in the United States.

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