On Tuesday the F.B.I. announced the arrests of 16 people across the country in connection with attacks carried out by the hacking group Anonymous. 14 people were charged in connection with an attack on PayPal last December because PayPal suspended accounts set up for donating money to WikiLeaks. The suspects from 10 different states are accused of conspiring to intentionally damage protected computers. The charge of intentional damage to a protected computer is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A 21 year old man was also arrested for breaking into the InfraGard website and then tweeted about it while providing instructions so that others could break in. Another 21 year old man was arrested for stealing confidential information from AT&T's systems while working as a contractor.
Recently police in Britain and the Netherlands have arrested other people suspected of participating in the hacking attacks. The Department of Justice said more than 35 search warrants were executed in the United States and that 5 arrests were made in Europe as part of a global investigation.
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