Anonymous hurt by arrests but hard to kill
In turning one of its best-known hackers into an informant and breaking open the highest profile elements of the Anonymous movement, authorities have dealt a serious blow to a group they found a growing irritant.
But as the broader "Anonymous" label - complete with its iconic Guy Fawkes mask imagery - is used by ever more disparate causes worldwide, it may be all but impossible to shut it down for good.
US authorities revealed on Wednesday that leading Anonymous hacker "Sabu" - real name Hector Xavier Monsegur, aged 28 - had been arrested last June in his apartment in a Manhattan housing complex. According to a newly released court transcript, he agreed to cooperate with authorities in return for likely leniency - helping US prosecutors bring charges against five more men, including two in Britain and two in Ireland. All had also been previously arrested.
