Hacker Hector Xavier Monsegur, better known as LulzSec leader Sabu, has been granted a six-month reprieve on his prison sentence for his continued cooperation with US authorities.
The hacking group LulzSec was an offshoot of Anonymous. It went on a two-month long hacking spree, attacking a number of targets including The CIA, the US Senate, the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency, MasterCard and more.
The group disbanded after Monsegur’s arrest. It then emerged he had been working as an informant with the FBI. His actions resulted in the arrests of multiple members of LulzSec and Anonymous.
Included in that list was UK citizen Jake Davis, better known as Topiary. He operated as the group’s spokesperson from his home on the Shetland Islands. Ryan Cleary, from Wickford in Essex, was also arrested for his part in various LulzSec hack attacks.
His information also led to the arrest of a hacker called Jeremy Hammond, who accessed sensitive emails from intelligence firm Stratfor, which were subsequently published on WikiLeaks.
According to a report in Wired, Monsegur has been granted six further months of freedom for continuing to help authorities. It is not clear whether he is helping with the case against those already arrested or whether he is still active in the hacking world.
His sentence date has now been shifted to February 2013, and it is unknown whether further cooperation will delay his jail time further. He is facing a maximum on 124 years behind bars following his guilty plea to 12 counts of violating federal law, including conspiracy to commit computer hacking and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
