Exclusive Interview With LulzSec Hacker

What’s the Latest Development?

After hacking high profile organizations like Sony, P.B.S. and the C.I.A., the hacker group LulzSec unexpectedly broke apart after only 50 days of disciplined data theft. It was a surprise to those who thought the cyber war was underway and that LulzSec was on the frontlines. One of LulzSec’s hackers, known as Sabu, explains the groups motives: “In 50 days, you saw how big and small companies were handling their user data incorrectly. You saw the U.S. federal government vulnerable to security issues that could have just as easily been exploited by foreign governments.”

What’s the Big Idea?

Before his involvement with LulzSec, Sabu recounts how he assisted the revolution in Tunisia by hacking the government’s website, even after the government had shut down the Internet: “Tunisians came to us telling us about their desire to resist. ‘Disrupt the government of Tunisia,’ they said, and we did. … When Tunisia filtered off its internet from the world, it was the Tunisians who came online using dial-up and literally allowed us to use their connections to tunnel through to re-deface the prime minister’s websites. It was the most impressive thing I’ve seen.”