Teenage LulzSec suspect Ryan Cleary released on bail

Ryan Cleary, the 19 year-old thought to have contributed to the distributed denial-of-service attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency organised by LulzSec, has been released on conditional bail.

The teenager was arrested last Monday after a joint investigation by the FBI and the Metropolitan Police, and was charged with violating four counts of the 1990 Computer Misuse Act.

As part of his bail conditions, Cleary is not allowed to access the internet on any device including games consoles and mobile phones. He is also required to observe a 9pm to 7am curfew and can leave the house only when accompanied by a parent and wearing an electronic tag.

Cleary has to report back to Southwark Crown Court on 30 August.

In a parallel with the case of hacker Gary McKinnon Cleary was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome while in custody. Widespread reports suggest that he also suffers from agoraphobia.

The Metropolitan Police originally suspected Cleary of being part of the now-disbanded LulzSec hacking group. However, soon after his arrest, LulzSec stated that his only association with the group was running an internet relay chat server that the group occasionally used for chat services.

LulzSec brought its 50-day hacking movement to an end last week having taken responsibility for attacking Sony multiple times. Other high-profile targets included the CIA, the FBI and the Brazilian government.

Despite disbanding, the group said that it hoped the AntiSec campaign will continue and that data it has captured will still be released over time.

The issue of cyber attacks was raised by defence secretary Liam Fox in a speech on Monday, in which he called for the creation of a fourth branch of the armed forces to focus on these threats.