Skip to main content

Lizard Squad loses its anonymity to computer security journalist Brian Krebs

uk police arrest six teens for using lizard squads hacking hire tool lizardsquad
Matt Cornish/Shutterstock
The waves made by the hack on Sony Pictures hadn’t time to calm before another major attack occurred, this time directed at the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network gaming services. Over the holidays a notorious group known as “Lizard Squad” claimed credit for a mass distributed denial of service attack on each. Their goal, apparently, was only to knock each service offline on the days millions would be opening new consoles and attempting to set them up.

They achieved their aim, but it appears the group’s anonymous infamy may be at an end. Well-known computer security journalist Brian Krebs published a blog post earlier today that traces the group’s origins back to 22-year-old Vinnie Omari of the United Kingdom and 16-year-old Julius Kivimäki of Finland.

Recommended Videos

Krebs’ didn’t have to use sophisticated techniques to find the pair. Instead, he relied on old-fashioned detective work, connecting the dots with several pieces of evidence including online posts and an interview Lizard Squad granted to BBC Radio. While the two members in the interview did not identify themselves their voices were clearly audible. Krebs linked the voice of Mr. Omari to a separate on-camera interview in which he presented himself not as a member of Lizard Squad but instead a “computer security analyst.”

Related: PSN and Xbox Live assailants turn their attention on Tor.

Though certain in the validity of his research, Krebs does post a disclaimer; it’s possible the pair aren’t Lizard Squad at all but instead wannabes claiming credit for things they weren’t involved in. This seems unlikely because Krebs links Mr. Omari to posts in which he attempts to sell vouchers for Kim Dotcom’s MegaUpload service (Dotcom stopped the attacks on PSN and Xbox Live by bribing Lizard Squad with 3,000 of these vouchers, which sell at $99 each). It’d take a particularly committed con artist to so proactively leave such a false trail, but it’s not impossible to imagine.

What happens next is hard to say. Krebs’ evidence probably isn’t enough to issue arrests, but it may help law enforcement narrow their list of suspects. That, in fact, appears to be Kreb’s goal, as he hopes that “with any luck” Lizard Squad will, like LulzSec before it, be brought to justice.

Image credit: Matt Cornish/Shutterstock

Matthew S. Smith
Matthew S. Smith is the former Lead Editor, Reviews at Digital Trends. He previously guided the Products Team, which dives…
Intel’s promised Arrow Lake autopsy details up to 30% loss in performance
The Core Ultra 9 285K socketed into a motherboard.

Intel's Arrow Lake CPUs didn't make it on our list of the best processors when they released earlier this year. As you can read in our Core Ultra 9 285K review, Intel's latest desktop offering struggled to keep pace with last-gen options, particularly in games, and showed strange behavior in apps like Premiere Pro. Now, Intel says it has fixed the issues with its Arrow Lake range, which accounted for up to a 30% loss in real-world performance compared to Intel's in-house testing.

The company identified five issues with the performance of Arrow Lake, four of which are resolved now. The latest BIOS and Windows Updates (more details on those later in this story) will restore Arrow Lake processors to their expected level of performance, according to Intel, while a new firmware will offer additional performance improvements. That firmware is expected to release in January, pushing beyond the baseline level of performance Intel expected out of Arrow Lake.

Read more
You can get this 40-inch LG UltraWide 5K monitor at $560 off if you hurry
A woman using the LG UltraWide 40WP95C-W 5K monitor.

If you need a screen to go with the upgrade that you made with desktop computer deals, and you're willing to spend for a top-of-the-line display, then you may want to set your sights on the LG 40WP95C-W UltraWide curved 5K monitor. From its original price of $1,800, you can get it for $1,240 from Walmart for huge savings of $560, or for $1,275 from Amazon for a $525 discount. You should complete your purchase quickly if you're interested though, as there's no telling when the offers for this monitor will expire.

Why you should buy the LG 40WP95C-W UltraWide curved 5K monitor
5K monitors are highly recommended for serious creative professionals, such as graphic designers and filmmakers, for their extremely sharp details and precise colors, and the LG 40WP95C-W UltraWide curved 5K monitor is an excellent choice. We've tagged it as the best ultrawide 5K monitor in our roundup of the best 5K monitors, with its huge 40-inch curved screen featuring 5120 x 2160 resolution, 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 spectrum, and support for HDR10 providing striking visuals that you won't enjoy from most of the other options in the market.

Read more
Generative-AI-powered video editing is coming to Instagram
Instagram on iPhone against a colorful background.

Editing your Instagram videos will soon be as simple as typing out a text prompt, thanks to a new generative AI tool the company hopes to release in 2025, CEO Adam Mosseri announced Thursday.

The upcoming tool, which leverages Meta's Movie Gen model, will enable users to "change nearly any aspect of your videos," Mosseri said during his preview demonstration. Those changes range from subtle modifications, like adding a gold chain to his existing outfit or a hippo in the background, to wholesale alterations including swapping his wardrobe or giving himself a felt, Muppet-like appearance.

Read more