14 DAY TRIAL // The UK Metropolitan Police Service has revealed the identity of the teenager arrested last week who is believed to be the Anonymous and LulzSec spokesperson Topiary.
The Met identified the hacktivist as one Jake Davis, 18, and said that he was involved in the attack against the website of UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
Davis was arrested last week in Lerwick, a town in the remote Shetland Islands off the Scottish coast in what was a described as an overly dramatic raid by police officers.
There has been speculation online that Scotland Yard might have the wrong man because Topiary was believed to be a Swede named Daniel Ackerman Sandberg.
However, the police feels pretty confident that the real Topiary is in their custody. This is supported by the fact that @LulzSec, the Twitter account known to be operated by the hacktivist, has been silent since the arrest.
Davis is scheduled to appear in court today and face charges of unauthorized access to a computer system, encouraging and assisting offenses, conspiracy to carry out a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, and conspiracy to commit offenses in violation of the Computer Misuse Act.
Topiary is known for his live interviews given to US news outlets representing both Anonymous and LulzSec. His primary role has always been one of spokesperson, not hacker, and that's why many of the charges are of conspiracy.
Topiary's arrest is the biggest law enforcement hit against the hacktivist movement represented by Anonymous, LulzSec and other associated groups. The FBI and police forces in multiple countries previously arrested Anonymous supporters, but none of them were high-ranking members.
Topiary has been at the center of Anonymous and LulzSec operations for a long time and the information he has about the other actors involved is bound to be extensive. Police also questioned Jake Davis' brother, Josh, 17, who lives in Spalding, Lincolnshire, with his care worker mother. The youngster was released without charge.