Will LulzSec arrests stop high-profile hacks? Don't bet on it
The arrests may have taken out the group known as "LulzSec," but there are still untold numbers of the hacktivist group Anonymous who remain active.
Josh Corman, director of security intelligence for Akamai who has been studying the hackers, said it was too soon to tell if this is going to hurt the Anonymous movement long term or help it.
"It may improve their operational security" to keep identities more hidden in case of infiltrators, he said.
Mitnick knows from first-hand experience just what hacker groups like Lulz and Anonymous are up against. One of the most celebrated early hackers, Mitnick got busted on hacking charges after leading the FBI on a goose chase about 25 years ago.
"If you poke the tiger, eventually the tiger is going to bite you," Mitnick said. "When you screw with law enforcement, they take it personal--and these guys were doing that, compromising police Web sites and publishing home addresses and phone numbers."
Recounting his personal chronology of being on the lam, Mitnick recalled that he kept his circle of acquaintances to one or two hacking partners at most, and he still wound up getting informed upon.
"The larger your circle the greater your risk...If I was a member of Anonymous, which I'm not, I would be really concerned about the same thing happening to me. How many people know my real world identity?"
Below is a timeline of major LulzSec events. Dates may be approximate as it is often difficult to determine exactly when a network was compromised:
(CNET's Roger Cheng contributed to this report.)February 2, 2011 - Anonymous hacks HBGary Federal site
May 15 - LulzSec claims credit for hacking UK ATMs and Fox Network's X Factor site
May 23 - LulzSec leaks data from Sony Music Japan
May 30 - LulzSec defaces PBS.org
June 2 - Group leaks customer data from Sony Pictures
June 3 - Hacks on Nintendo and InfraGard Atlanta
June 6 - Sony Entertainment source code and Sony BMG hacks
June 7 - Monsegur, aka Sabu, arrested on identity fraud charges
June 9 - LulzSec compromises U.K. National Health Services site
June 13 - Data stolen from videogame maker Bethesda Software
June 14 - Senate site compromised
June 15 - DDoS on CIA site
June 16 - Thousands of passwords dumped
June 20 - DDoS on U.K.'s Serious Organized Crime Agency
June 21 - British police arrest 19-year-old Ryan Cleary
June 23 - Arizona law enforcement sites compromised
June 25 - LulzSec announces that they are quitting after 50 days
June 28 - Zimbabwe, Brazil, UMG, Viacom hacked
June 29 - Arizona Dept. of Public Safety data dump
June 29 - FBI searches home of Ohio man
June 30 - another Arizona law officer data dump
July 4 - Apple server targeted
July 8 - Chilean government site, IRC Federal hacked
July 11 - hackers claim Booz Allen Hamilton hack
July 18 - LulzSec deface Murdoch's The Sun
July 19 - 16 arrested in U.S.
July 22 - U.S., Italian cyber crime site hacked
July 27 - Topiary arrested (Identified this week as Jake Davis)
August 6 - Italian police sites attacked
August 15 - Monsegur pleads guilty to computer hacking charges
August 18 - Hackers claim data stolen from Vanguard Defense Industries
September 22 - Arrest of Cody Andrew Kretsinger, 23, of Phoenix
December 25 - Stratfor data stolen