They are students at a private university in Phnom Penh

Apr 23, 2014 13:30 GMT  ·  By

A couple of 21-year-old students believed to be members of Anonymous Cambodia have been arrested. Local authorities collaborated with the FBI on the investigation. 

According to The Phnom Penh Post, the suspects are students at a private university, the SETEC Institute in Phnom Penh. They’ve been charged with computer hacking and they face up to two years in prison.

Bun King Mongkolpanha, aka “Black Cyber” or “Machine,” and Chu Songheng, aka “Zoro,” were arrested on April 7. They’re currently in prison awaiting trial. Authorities have been targeting them for eight months before obtaining a warrant for their arrest.

“These are the first members of the Anonymous hacker group who have been arrested by the [Cambodian] police, and we found no [evidence] of any [planned] terrorist attack,” said Major General Chhay Sinarith, director of the Ministry of Interior’s internal security department.

Sinarith said that both admitted taking part in hacking operations. However, a statement issued by the police says that Zoro has denied being involved in cyberattacks.

Others are being investigated for their alleged connection to cyber operations against the Cambodian government.

Interestingly, the official Anonymous Cambodia Twitter account hasn’t mentioned anything about hackers being arrested. Instead, the hacktivists have already announced their plans to launch more attacks after a draft of the new cybersecurity law was leaked on April 9.

Anonymous Cambodia has breached and disrupted numerous government and government-affiliated websites since September 2013.