14 DAY TRIAL // Three suspected Anonymous members from New York had their houses raided by the FBI earlier today in connection with an investigation into distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
According to Fox News, FBI agents executed search warrants at an address in Baldwin, New York, one in Long Island and one in Brooklyn. All targeted suspects are reportedly in their late teens or early 20s.
The agents seized at least one laptop from the Baldwin home of one Giordani Jordan whose IP address is said to have participated in DDoS attacks against various companies.
This is the latest development in what appears to be an international law enforcement crackdown against Anonymous. Earlier this month the Italian police arrested three individuals believed to be leading figures in the hacktivist group's local chapter.
Back in June, the Metropolitan Police arrested 19-year-old teenager name Ryan Cleary from Essex, UK, for his alleged role in past Anonymous attacks.
Similar law enforcement actions against Anonymous supporters have been reported in Turkey, Spain and the Netherlands. In most cases the arrests are related to the group's DDoS attacks and and not its more recent hacking campaigns.
The hacktivist collective encourages its members to participate in DDoS attacks as a sign of protest. The group compares these attacks to real life sit-ins, but the reality is that such actions are illegal in most countries.
The majority of Anonymous members who get arrested are rebellious teenagers who probably didn't fully understand the legal implications of what they were doing. There are past examples of Anonymous members being successfully prosecuted and sentenced to prison for participating in the group's DDoS attacks.
During the past month the hacktivist group has ramped up its campaigns and switched from DDoS to more serious offenses such as hacking. Hackers associated with the group have broken into computer systems belonging to FBI and government contractors, election offices and the Arizona police.