Anonymous Hacker Denies Being FBI Snitch
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CREDIT: FBI |
Federal agents have arrested a Texas man believed to be involved in the CabinCr3w hacking group, an Anonymous-like collective that gained infamy for attacking the website of the Texas Department of Public Safety and for its online attacks in support of the Occupy protesters.
Higinio Ochoa, 30, of Galveston, was arrested by the FBI on March 20 and charged with unauthorized access to a protected computer. The March 15 criminal complaint alleges that Ochoa, who went by the Twitter handle @Anonw0rmer, took part in hacking the websites of the Alabama and Texas departments of public safety in February.
Despite the bust, Ochoa denied actually helping the FBI, according to a Pastebin post he allegedly wrote.
The CabinCr3w hackers came to the forefront of the security world when they leaked the email addresses and confidential information of Goldman Sachs executives in September 2011. In February, the group infiltrated the database of the Los Angeles County Police Canine Association, and leaked the names, addresses and phone numbers of more than 100 Los Angeles-area police officers.
In a March 31 Pastebin post allegedly written by Ochoa, the accused hacker said that "around 8 agents from the FBI stormed my apartment" on March 20 at 10:30 a.m. Ochoa wrote that he was taken to a federal detention center in Houston, where he was held until bail was set.
During his stay in Houston, Ochoa said he was treated poorly and berated by agents, who refused to give him his epilepsy medication.
Ochoa, or whoever authored the Pastebin post, took time to address his motivation for participating in CabinCr3w's exploits.
"As our nation continues to grow more worldly and anonymous continues to spread our reach, our country will continue to wage war. This time however it will not only be our civil rights but our human rights," the post reads.
The post also dispels assumptions that Ochoa was working as an FBI informant like Sabu, the LulzSec member who flipped when arrested and helped authorities bring down his fellow hackers.
"Some body such as myself who not only participated in the occupy movement but knew many and knew the inner workings of the 'infamous' cabin crew would not be just put away without wondering if he could be turned," the post reads. "I did how ever tell FBI that I would participate in the capture of my fellow crew mates, a play which undoubtfully [sic] both satisfied and confused the FBI."
Ochoa added: "Those however who know me best would vouch for me undoutfully [sic] that doing so would put this movement at risk, something that I wish more anon's would not only consider but place higher than themselves and those around them. ALL information provided to the FBI merely made MY case weaker and caused internal confusion showing the inherent weakness in the system."
