Fri, Jun 10, 2011 | 16:22 BST
Spanish National Police arrest three Anonymous members in Spain
The National Police in Spain have arrested three suspected members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, and according to the Spanish Policia Nacional website, one of the people arrested was hosting a server out of their home which supported DDoS attacks on businesses, websites, financial institutions and government agencies around the globe – as well as the website for the PlayStation Store.
Three of its leaders in Spain were arrested in Barcelona, Valencia and Almeria, one of which was protecting a server in their home where attacks were coordinated and implemented. From her apartment in Gijon, the member attacked the websites of the “Sony Playstation Store, BBVA, Bankia, ENEL and the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.”
This was the first police operation in Spain against Anonymous, and the Technological Investigation Brigade of the National Police analyzed more than 2,000,000 lines of log chats and webpages to find the area of operations in Spain and find enough evidence to make an arrest.
The initial investigation began in October 2010 following a complaint by the Ministry of Culture after its website was attacked in protest over the country’s Congress and Senate passing the Law of Sustainable Economy. Anonymous claimed responsibility for the attack, thus began the investigation.
One of the searches on an Anonymous member’s home found software “specifically designed for the creation of malware,” and “sophisticated encryption techniques,” in order to hide the users identity and communications through the used of others’ WiFi networks and the use of bots.
Spain’s Technological Investigation Brigade’s investigation, which led to the three arrests, have caused the police to charge the perpetrators with criminal damage, discovery and disclosure of secrets and conspiracy.
Via Meristation.
Thanks, Enrique.
23 comments
#1
Razor
10/06/11, 2:51 pm
I don’t want to do the “Not so Anonymous now are you?” line….but it’s just too hard not to.
#2
OrbitMonkey
10/06/11, 3:03 pm
They attacked New Zealand? WTF for? Mistreatment of sheep? The LOTR’s tourist site?
#3
Bluebird
10/06/11, 3:10 pm
Hah, I thought the same at first, Orbit.
Apparently they attacked NZ because of some copyright law.
#4
Christopher Jack
10/06/11, 3:30 pm
I hate this ‘terrorist-like’ mentality that many of these guys have. They don’t care about the consequences of their actions, in fact, they love huge reactions, it gets their jollies off.
#5
jnms
10/06/11, 3:42 pm
Yeah I agree Chistopher – unfortunatly the police and other government groups are like that the world over.
#6
Christopher Jack
10/06/11, 3:48 pm
They also have no problem whatsoever of shifting the blame to several completely innocent people, they create bugs to make others do their bidding =\
I could bet that a majority in almost every DDoS attack came from people who had no idea that they were even involved.
#7
NeoSquall
10/06/11, 3:51 pm
The first three idiots down the meat grinder!
#8
jnms
10/06/11, 3:54 pm
Yeah Christipher I agree – it’s shitty. That’s the way these dudes work though. Botnets are used on both sides of the fence (the CIA have some of the worlds largest) and it’s a shit deal all round.
#9
Dr.Ghettoblaster
10/06/11, 4:00 pm
Throw the book at em danno!
Don’t associate yourself with a hacker group such as Annoyonmous if you’re not willing to take the chance of getting blamed for something you may or may not have actually taken part in.
Throw the book at em danno!
#10
Uncontested
10/06/11, 4:00 pm
Good riddance. These faggots deserve every charge they get.
#11
RyougaZell
10/06/11, 4:09 pm
Nice.
#12
Mystic Sage
10/06/11, 4:10 pm
Hell yea I bet they are all s****ing in there pants right now. I hope they throw the book at them give them some serious time because what they do is serious stuff and they deserve to go to prison.
#13
_LarZen_
10/06/11, 4:13 pm
Happy times!
#14
neon6
10/06/11, 4:16 pm
Who said they would never be found?
#15
Gekidami
10/06/11, 4:18 pm
^ Anonymous did. Hence the name…
#16
hitnrun
10/06/11, 4:29 pm
I hope, in this rush to justice, that these suspects are not deprived of their rights to Hot Pockets, or their access to Longcat and pornography.
#17
NeoSquall
10/06/11, 4:55 pm
@16 I think the first and most effective tool to make them spill the beans on their associates will be to deprive them of porn.
#18
Dr.Ghettoblaster
10/06/11, 5:11 pm
^
Does anyone, I mean ANYONE, really look at these and say…”OOOhhhh Jeans $34″ CLICK
#19
Schindet Nemo
10/06/11, 5:26 pm
@ 20 I bet. The stupidity of man knows no bounds. Remember that Nigerian prince scam? They’ve made several million € with that bullshit.
#20
mojo
10/06/11, 6:02 pm
ul
#21
OlderGamer
10/06/11, 6:15 pm
Score one for Spain.
#22
Cozzy
10/06/11, 6:27 pm
Make the bastards pay!
#23
NinjaMidget
10/06/11, 10:10 pm
@21 100% right there!