Online, he was the elite, combustible hacker known as Sabu. But at home, Hector Xavier Monsegur seemed like the white sheep of a troubled family.
An Internet outlaw's decision to go to work for the FBI poured light on a secretive world where young computer experts caused havoc and where authorities say a Chicago man and others celebrated their successes as they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars with stolen credit card numbers.
The shadowy underworld of Internet hackers was rocked Tuesday by news that one of the world's most-wanted and most-feared computer vandals has been an FBI informant for months and helped authorities build a case against five people they say were comrades.
The shadowy underworld of Internet hackers was rocked by news Tuesday that one of the world's most-wanted and most-feared computer vandals has been an FBI informant for months and helped authorities build a case against five alleged comrades.
Private intelligence firm Stratfor was paid by Coca-Cola to gauge the threat of Olympic protesters, provided Dow Chemical information on environmental activists, and sells what clients and subscribers consider some of the best geopolitical analysis that money can buy.
Private intelligence firm Stratfor is in the business of shedding light on the world for its many clients. On Monday, anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks was the one shedding light on Stratfor, saying it had more than 5 million of the company's emails and would publish them in collaboration with two dozen international media organizations.
The anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks on Monday began publishing 5 million e-mails stolen by hackers from the global intelligence firm Stratfor.
The young Army intelligence specialist accused of leaking government secrets spent his 24th birthday in court Saturday as his lawyers argued his status as a gay soldier before the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" played an important role in his actions.
WikiLeaks' very future could be at stake, as founder Julian Assange decides his next step to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex crime charges.
