Thirteen alleged hackers reportedly connected to the online activists and Internet vigilantes Anonymous were indicted one charge of conspiracy to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer, court records stated.
According to the New York Times, the indicted members are accused of bringing down six Internet sites, including those belonging to the Recording Industry Association of America, Visa and MasterCard.
The indictment record reads:
“Between on or about September 16, 2010 and at least January 2, 2011, defendants Dennis Owen Collins, Jeremy Leroy Heller, Zhiwei Chen, Joshua S. Phy, Ryan Russell Gubele, Robert Audubon Whitefield, Anthony Tadros, Geoffrey Kenneth Commander, Phillip Garrett Simpson, Austen L. Stamm, Timothy Robert McClain, Wade Carl Williams, and Thomas J. Bell, together with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, participated in a worldwide conspiracy as part of the online group ANONYMOUS in a campaign dubbed “OPERATIONPAYBACK” (or “OPERATION: PAYBACK IS A BITCH,”) to engage in a coordinated series of cyber-attacks against victims.2.
OPERATION PAYBACK targeted victims worldwide, including governmental entities, trade associations, individuals, law firms, and financial institutions, which ANONYMOUS claimed opposed its stated philosophy of making all information free for all, including information protected by copyright laws or national security considerations. As a result, the defendants, together with other ANONYMOUS members known and unknown to the Grand Jury, launched, or attempted to launch, cyber-attacks against entities including the Recording Industry Association of America (“RIAA”) in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Motion Picture Association of America (“MPAA”), the United States Copyright Office of the Library of Congress, Visa, MasterCard, and Bank of America, and caused significant damage to victims.”
"This will be a calm, coordinated display of blood. We will not be merciful," Anonymous warned their alleged victims, quoted in the indictment.
The alleged hackers ranged from ages 21 to 65 and lived in 13 different US states.
