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Member of Spl0it Arrested
Mike Hudack
Editor-in-Chief
Staff
Attrition.org
OSAll has received confirmation that F0bic, a member of Team Spl0it, has been arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents earlier this week. The arrest comes after a defacement spree which included the defacement of dozens of government sites, including those of the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, State of Virginia, and Xerox.
F0bic, who is in his late teens, was visited by the FBI and immediately led away in handcuffs while his belongings were searched and seized. He can face up to one year per website defacement if convicted. Each defacement is a Class C felony under United States Criminal Code.
It was not clear whether or not F0bicīs data was encrypted. It is assumed, however, he did not have advance warning of the raid. For that reason, many doubt the data was encrypted.
Spl0it, which has been around since at least 1998, has in the past been featured on OSAll as one of the only groups to post relatively intelligent messages on defaced sites.
This arrest signals an escalation of the so-called `hacker warī between Federal authorities and crackers, which has included the defacement of sites such as the White House and the Senate (twice).
If this is any indication of the FBI and Justice Departmentīs strategy, we will see future arrests and indictments. It is assumed that the Department of Justice will either seek the maximum penalty of one year per site or make a deal with F0bic which will include the outing of other crackers.
According to a source close to the FBI, they plan to continue a `get toughī policy against website defacers. According to one FBI agent, "this isnīt just a teenage prank anymore. This is graffiti -- but itīs a type of graffiti that takes away public trust in the government and electronic commerce." The arrest, however, seems to be just as much a reaction to a sharp feeling of embarassment within the Bureau and the rest of the government. As one congressional aide said, "weīve had to explain this to people calling us. Itīs very embarassing to have to tell them that hackers have taken down our website."
OSAll is following this and related stories very closely, and will have updates for you throughout the weekend. Thanks to Attrition.org for giving OSAll the lead on this story. You can view mirrors of Spl0itīs website defacements at the Attrition Mirror, which is a member of the OSAll Network. |
