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Alleged LulzSec hacker arrested for Sony Pictures attack

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An alleged member of the hacker group LulzSec was arrested by FBI agents in connection with a massive computer attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment earlier this summer.

Cody Kretsinger, 23, of Phoenix was arrested Thursday morning on charges of conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer, the FBI said in a statement.

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Kretsinger, also known by the handle ‘recursion,’ is a current or former member of LulzSec, a group of ‘elite computer hackers’ that has attacked various government agencies and businesses, including Sony Pictures in May and June, the FBI said.

Along with other hackers, Kretsinger attacked the Sony Pictures website, swiped confidential information, and later aired that stolen data on the LulzSec website and on other online channels, according to the FBI. While carrying out the Sony hack, Kretsinger tried to mask his digital identity through a proxy server and later permanently erased the hard drive of the computer he used, the FBI said.

LulzSec claimed responsibility for the Sony hack on its Twitter account.

The FBI said that LulzSec is affiliated with an ‘international group of hackers’ known as Anonymous, responsible for cyber crimes on businesses and government entities including PayPal, News Corp. and NATO. In July, the FBI arrested 16 Anonymous and Lulzsec members around the country for cyber crimes.

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Anonymous-related probe leads FBI to search three New York homes [Updated]

-- Shan Li

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