LulzSec hacker Cleary indicted in the US

Alleged LulzSec hacker Ryan Cleary has been indicted on charges of computer misuse in the US.

A US district court has brought charges against the Briton for his apparent role in a number of attacks by the LulzSec hacking team. He faces three counts of intentionally causing damage to a system without permission.

According to the indictment, Cleary employed a botnet used in a number of LulzSec denial of service attacks and assisted the group in identifying and targeting security vulnerabilities for attacks and data breaches.

The filing alleges that Cleary assisted the group in more than 10 high-profile attacks, including breaches at Fox Television and Sony Pictures, as well as attacks on Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency.

The court also alleges that Cleary rented out access to his botnet in other attacks and conspired with other LulzSec members to thwart a police investigation of the group.

Cleary is currently in the UK facing charges of computer misuse for his role in the attacks. In April, Cleary had his bail revoked after illegally accessing the web and attempting to make contact with other LulzSec members.

LulzSec dominated the headlines in the spring of 2011 when the offshoot of Anonymous conducted a wave of high-profile breaches targeting game and film studios as well as a number of attacks on law enforcement servers and web sites.

The group was dismantled by police earlier this year in a series of raids. Authorities later revealed that LulzSec founder Hector "Sabu" Monsegur had been operating for months as an informant for the FBI.