Hector Xavier Monsegur | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 (age 41–42) |
| Other names | Sabu |
| Occupation | Cybersecurity |
| Known for | Founder ofLulzSec |
Hector Xavier Monsegur (born 1983),[1] known also by the online pseudonymSabu (pronouncedSə'buː, Sæ'buː),[2] is an Americancomputer hacker and co-founder of the hacking groupLulzSec.[3] Monsegur became aninformant for theFBI, working with the agency for over ten months to aid them in identifying the other hackers from LulzSec and related groups while facing a sentence of 124 years in prison.[4][5] LulzSec intervened in the affairs of organizations such asNews Corporation,Stratfor,UK and American law enforcement bodies andIrish political partyFine Gael.[6]
Sabu featured prominently in the group's published IRC chats,[7][8] and claimed to support the "Free Topiary" campaign.The Economist referred to Sabu as one of LulzSec's six core members.[9]
Hector Monsegur was born inNew York to a 16-year-old father who raised him with his 40-year-old grandmother. Following the arrest of his father and his aunt forselling heroin, Monsegur moved to theRiis Houses (also known asthe projects) inNew York City with his grandmother.[10][11]
At a young age, Monsegur became interested in computers.
While attendingWashington Irving High School, Monsegur was reprimanded by a security guard for bringing a screwdriver to school to help fix their computer system. Feeling insulted, he sent several complaints to the school administration. His complaints were deemed "threatening," and he was expelled. After this incident, he discontinued his formal education.[1][10][12]
An early experience with hacking was at age 14 when a Puerto Rican person was accidentally killed by theMarine Corps when they started bombing outside the test range on the island ofVieques, Puerto Rico. In response, Monsegur defaced various websites with messages protesting the US government's treatment of Puerto Ricans. On one site he included the line "Hello, I am Sabu, no one special for now."[10]
In 2010, following the death of his grandmother, he became the foster parent to his two female cousins whom he was unable to support financially, so he began hacking. Committing mostlycredit card fraud, he targeted large corporate bank accounts. Although he was at first only interested in hacking for profit, over time he became interested inhacktivism, and this renewed interest coincided with the rise of the political hacker groupAnonymous, which he joined under the moniker "Sabu".[10]
Sabu became the leader of a new hacking group formed by six Anonymous members. This new group was namedLulz Security (often abbreviated as LulzSec). LulzSec performed some hacks with political motives, but most of the hacks done by LulzSec were primarily motivated by a style of humor that they described as "the lulz". LulzSec was only active during a period that they referred to as the "50 days of lulz". In this time, their targets includedNews Corporation,Sony, and theCIA's official website.[13][14]
Sabu was identified by rival hacker group Backtrace Security as "Hector Montsegur" [sic] on March 11, 2011, in "Namshub," a PDF publication (named after the Sumerian word for "incantation").[15][16] Backtrace Security was a group of ex-Anonymous members who had grown critical of vigilantehacktivism. One member of the group explained their motives by stating, "One cannot fight for justice and democracy by using unjust, anti-democratic tactics."[17][18] Backtrace Security had found his identity through anIRC chatlog in which Sabu accidentally posted a link to his personal website.[12]
Federal agents arrested Monsegur on June 7, 2011. The following day, Monsegur agreed to become an informant for theFBI and to continue his "Sabu" persona.[19] A few days after that bail hearing, Monsegur entered a guilty plea to 12 criminal charges, including multiple counts of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking, computer hacking in furtherance of fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faced up to 124 years in prison.[19]
As an informant, Monsegur provided the FBI with details enabling the arrest of five other hackers associated with the groupsAnonymous, LulzSec and AntiSec.[20][21] The FBI provided its own servers for the hacking to take place.[20] Information Monsegur provided also resulted in the arrest of two UK hackers: James Jeffery and Ryan Cleary.[22] The FBI attempted to use Monsegur to entrapNadim Kobeissi, author of the secure communication softwareCryptocat, but without success.[23]
Monsegur maintained his pretense until March 6, 2012, even tweeting his "opposition" to the federal government until the very last minute.[20] On March 6, 2012, the FBI announced the arrests of five male suspects: two from Britain, two from Ireland and one from the U.S. Anonymous reacted to Sabu's unmasking and betrayal of LulzSec on Twitter, "#Anonymous is a hydra, cut off one head and we grow two back".[24]
A court filing made by prosecutors in late May 2014 revealed Monsegur had prevented 300cyber-attacks in the three years since 2011, including planned attacks onNASA, theU.S. military and media companies.[25]
Monsegur served 7 months in prison after his arrest but had been free since then while awaiting sentencing. At his sentencing on May 27, 2014, he was given "time served" for co-operating with the FBI and set free under one year of probation.[26]
After his release from prison, Monsegur worked as awhite hat hacker doingpentesting.[27]