A pair of hackers who have recently whacked a number of US government and military sites may finally have been caught by the FBI.

The "Deceptive Duo" have been the bane of federal and military sites since April when they started their hacking spree. The pair's "mission", they claimed, was to reveal potentially dangerous weaknesses in the US infrastructure in the aftermath of 11 September.

According to reports, two well-known suspects have been arrested by US authorities. They are Robert Lyttle - also known as Pimpshiz, the pro-Napster hacker - and The-Rev, an ex-member of defacement group Sm0ked Crew.

Lyttle is already on probation for defacing a number of US government sites, including the FBI and Nasa, but has recently given the appearance of trying to go straight as a security consultant. He recently turned 18 and is now likely to face a stiffer penalty for his more recent actions.

The identity of The Rev - whose cohorts have been interviewed by vnunet.com in the past - is still not known. This could indicate that he is still a minor. A majority of the Sm0ked Crew team were known to be only of high school age.

According to reports, the pair will be tried in a California district court.