A Small Success in Cyberspace

Topiary

The growth of computers in our daily lives is truly astonishing. A few short years ago some of my senior (polite for older) friends would have gone into long orations about how they do not have and will never have computers or cell phones or anything like that. Now we regularly comment on each others blogs via email. Even the geeks of yesterday now have the ability to find and associate with each other and express themselves via the internet. Along with the rise in the influence of technology, there has also been a rise in the area of cybercrime. A good deal of that cybercrime has some of those quite geeks behind it because they can do the crime without ever leaving the comfort of their home. One of the better known “hackers” (people who enter your computer without your permission or knowledge to steal information) goes by the name Topiary.

Last week Scotland Yard got their man once again when they tracked down and arrested the infamous and elusive Topiary. As you might guess, the internationally-known hacker, a leader of LulzSec (a computer hacking group), looks a bit like your geeky teenaged brother who spends a great deal of time alone in his room. 

According to The Telegraph, the suspect believed to be Topiary is Jake Davis, 18, who lives in the Shetland Islands. A search of his home turned up “a network of 16 machines…the information held on the network included web log-in details of hundreds of thousands of people. According Davis faces five counts of conspiracy to mount a cyber attack, but said nothing in a court appearance other than confirming his identity:

Davis spoke only to confirm his name and address, and was granted conditional bail at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, denim shirt and sunglasses, he carried a book, “Free radicals: The secret anarchy of science”, as he left court.

Also according to the Telegraph, “Topiary was believed to be the group’s main spokesman, giving media interviews and using the LulzSec Twitter account to boast about its exploits in nautical-themed language.”

Live Long and Prosper...