LulzSec's Top Hacker 'Is FBI Double Agent'

The arrested 'leader' of the LulzSec hacker group has been working as a double agent for the US government, it has been claimed.

Hector Xavier Monsegur - known in LulzSec as "Sabu" - was initially charged last August with 12 criminal counts of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking.

A court document opened for the first time on Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court revealed the charges were filed via a 'criminal information', which means the suspect has likely been co-operating with the US government.

According to Fox News , the self-styled hacktavist operated as a secret turncoat for the past eight months.

It claimed unemployed Monsegur, 26, pleaded guilty then helped the FBI track down other hackers, tweet misinformation and protect the CIA and financial institutions as a turncoat.

A Twitter account for fellow hacker group Anonymous called Sabu a "traitor".

It said: "We are done talking about Sabu. He is a person who is too scared for revolution. We will continue to fight and show that Sabu was no one."

The US National Lawyers Guild offered help to those caught in the "war on information" and described alleged hackers as "part of a tradition of freedom fighters".

The news of the hacking group being compromised came as alleged hackers from the UK, US and Ireland have been rounded up and charged with offences.

On Monday, an alleged member of the group AntiSec was also charged over hacking details of 860,000 customers of private intelligence firm Stratfor , after accessing unencrypted files on the company's servers.

Fox News described the alleged cultivation of Sabu by government operatives and said: "Flipping Monsegur wasn't easy.

"But with a charge of aggravated identity theft and a two-year prison sentence to hang over his head, the FBI forced Monsegur to weigh the political beliefs that drove him and his allegiance to cohorts around the world against his desire to be with his kids.

"He is the guardian of two children and his extended family."

Court documents allege Monsegur carried out cyber attacks on companies such as PayPal and MasterCard.

Fox News said Sabu was given an FBI-issued laptop that allowed his handlers to monitor online activities 24 hours a day.

"With Sabu's help, the FBI learned the identities of other LulzSec members, gathered evidence and records from private chatrooms used by the elite hackers to plan and discuss their cyber attacks, and found out about planned hacks in time to minimise or prevent damage without blowing their star witness' cover."

LulzSec and Anonymous have previously taken credit for carrying out a number of high-profile actions against companies and institutions including the CIA, Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency and Japan's electronic giant Sony.

Irish police confirmed that a teenager was arrested as part of an international operation against hacking.

In documents released by the FBI, it alleged he accessed and recorded a secret conference call in January between its agents and Scotland Yard officers.

The FBI said a second Irishman, from Galway, was also charged over hacking offences.

Meanwhile two Britons were charged on Tuesday with computer hacking for LulzSec.

Ryan Mark Ackroyd, 25, of Doncaster, and a 17-year-old from south London were both told they will face court proceedings after answering bail at Scotland Yard.

:: It takes the total number charged by British officers investigating LulzSec to four.