Disillusioned ex-Anonymous first outed Sabu last year
The trail to the New York apartment where a hacker named "Sabu" of LulzSec and Anonymous fame was arrested last June can be traced back to a former Anonymous participant who turned against the group over its WikiLeaks activities.
Sabu, whose name is Hector Xavier Monsegur, pleaded guilty to computer hacking charges in August and spent the last six months working as an informant for the FBI. The undercover operation led to hacking-related charges being filed against four alleged cohorts in the U.K., Ireland, and Chicago yesterday.
Sabu was the proverbial big fish who was admired among other hackers and hailed as an online freedom fighter. And unmasking him became a favorite hobby for rivals last year. But it was Jennifer Emick, after being harassed online for criticizing Anonymous' hacking activities, who was the first to match a face and real name with the well-known hacker handle. "It took me four hours to find Sabu," Emick told CNET today.
