Alleged LulzSec ‘Mastermind’ Arrested, But Is He Really A Mastermind?

It seems like only yesterday that Lulz Security declared an “immediate and unremitting war” on government and bank websites.  Probably because it was yesterday.  Man, I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.

This morning Scotland Yard arrested Ryan Cleary, 19, in Wickford, Essex, England.  They also seized a “significant amount of material” in collaboration with the FBI.  The arrest came shortly after a posting on Pirate Bay claimed LulzSec had pilfered all the UK government’s 2011 census data and would be posting it online; it should be noted the census data claim did not come from the official LulzSec Twitter account and they have denied it.

After the arrest, Channel 4 News tweeted that the suspected “mastermind” behind LulzSec had been arrested.  Settle down there, Channel 4.  The Metro Police never called him a mastermind.  One anon tweeted: “The good news everybody: Ryan has little to do with #LulzSec besides running IRC. All 6 members of @LulzSec are fine and safe.”  Another tweeted: “If it is Ryan then they’re alright. lol.”  The official LulzSec Twitter even chimed in:

 

 

Note: @LulzSec has since deleted the above tweet.

[Sources: Metro Police, Telegraph, Gizmodo, TheNextWeb, Flickr, @LulzSec]