5 Face hacking charges in US

Five members of Anonymous and an offshoot hacking group have been charged in the United States with taking part in a computer hacking conspiracy, a US law enforcement official said. "They are part of Anonymous or members of associated groups," the official said, adding that one of the five charged has pleaded guilty. According to Fox News, two men from Britain, two from Ireland and an American would be charged in an indictment to be unsealed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to Fox News, a leader of Anonymous-affiliated hacking group Lulz Security has been secretly cooperating with the US authorities. Fox News said the leader of Lulz Security, Hector Xavier Monsegur of New York, known by the Internet alias "Sabu," has been working for the government for months. The 28-year-old Monsegur was arrested in June, pleaded guilty in August to 12 hacking-related charges and began cooperating with the FBI, Fox said. Lulz Security, or LulzSec, has claimed responsibility over the past year for attacking the websites of the Central Intelligence Agency, the US Senate, Sony, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and others.