London - A computer hacker accused of launching a “cyber attack” on Britain’s equivalent of the FBI returned home on Monday night - but only after his mother promised not to let him surf the internet.
Ryan Cleary, an alleged key member of computer hacking network LulzSec, was reunited with his mother, Rita, after being granted bail following seven days in police custody.
The 19-year-old recluse was arrested last Monday on suspicion of sabotaging organisations including the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). It was the first time he had left his home in Wickford, Essex, since Christmas, spending most of that time in his bedroom.
Mrs Cleary told the Daily Mail: “I’m so relieved to have him home - the last seven days have been the longest in our lives.
“Had he been remanded for any longer I don’t think he would have coped. He told me he was going out of his mind in there. He’s just so pleased to come home to me and his cat. He said he feels ‘free’.”
The teenager, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome while in custody, is accused of launching cyber attacks to crash websites.
He had been granted bail at a hearing on Saturday, but the prosecution appealed the decision. After hearing a plea from his mother at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith dismissed the appeal, allowing Cleary to be freed on bail.
Mrs Cleary assured the court she would not let her son access the internet while he was living with her.
She told the court that she was aware of her son’s lack of an offline social life, saying: “I’m his best friend, because he’s reclusive.” She added: “He’s my life.”
The LulzSec group has been linked to attacks on the websites of the NHS, the CIA, and computer games companies Sony and Nintendo.
Cleary, who has been electronically tagged, is charged with five offences under the Computer Misuse and Criminal Law Acts. He is alleged to have taken part in a denial-of-service attack - crippling a website by overwhelming it with requests for data - which briefly brought down SOCA’s site last Monday.
He is also accused of involvement in two similar attacks on the websites of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and its British counterpart on November 28 and October 29 respectively.
A further charge alleges that he “made, adapted, supplied or offered to supply” access to a “botnet” - a network of computers, hijacked without their owners’ knowledge - for use in the attacks.
The teenager will appear at Southwark Crown Court again on August 30.
Outside the court, his solicitor, Karen Todner, said: “He has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and he will now be provided with the professional support he needs. One thing that is positive from this case is that the British police are investigating and appear to be accepting jurisdiction.” - Daily Mail