LulzSec: public service or teenage dorks at work?

The arrest of an Essex teenager in a joint Scotland Yard and FBI investigation into computer hacking groups that have launched attacks on major websites around the world has generated a slew of headlines.

Nineteen-year-old Ryan Cleary, who could now face deportation to the USA to face charges, is said to be one of the masterminds behind LulzSec, the group which has attacked organisations including the CIA, US Senate, Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the NHS, Sony and Nintendo.

Yesterday it was even reported that the group had somehow got hold of the entire 2011 census database, although this was later denied. But do hackers and organisations like LulzSec really pose a major threat, and what can we do about it?

People need to be aware of the dangers. Graham Cluley, senior consultant with internet security firm Sophos, warns readers of the Telegraph that it is time to take action. "The threat to real people is undeniable. So much of people's information is kept online that anyone could be a risk," he says. 

"There's a difference between a prankster who wants their 15 minutes of fame and someone who's intent on threatening national security by stealing highly sensitive information, but either way the current hacking mayhem should be a wake-up call." 

It highlights the risks of identity theft. Rik Ferguson in the Independent agrees that people's fears about hackers are "well founded" and he adds: "In an age where utilities companies, credit card companies, banks and other financial institutions are moving their customers ever more toward online services, e-billing and e-statements aren't we only making it more simple to steal an identity and at the same time more ethereal to assert one?"

Nick Heath, writing on technology website Silicon.com, concurs: "When people are being asked to place huge amounts of data in the hands of a third party - whether it is electronic medical records in the NHS or photos in a consumer cloud - they need to be sure their details are as safe as the cash in their bank account."

Hackers also create fear about technology. Heath goes on to point out that the attacks have created a climate of fear. "To the general public it must appear that hacking groups such as LulzSec and Anonymous are able to operate with impunity, targeting companies like Sony and MasterCard and then melting away into cyberspace."

So why do they do it? The Daily Mail tries to get to the bottom of the question. "The attacks do not appear to be financially motivated - instead, LulzSec seems content to receive international recognition for embarrassing some of the world's largest companies," it explains. "Not all the attention has been negative, either, as some cyber experts have praised LulzSec for exposing the inadequacy of online defences without maliciously exploiting these weaknesses."

And they are part of the zeitgeist. Alexi Mostrous in the Times claims: "In the age of Stieg Larsson, whose heroine Lisbeth Salander breaks into her enemies' computers on a daily basis, hackers have been granted unprecedented cultural deference."

He too is worried, and says that the recent 'peace' agreement between hacking groups LulzSec and Anonymous could lead to a surge in attacks. Mostrous warns: "The prime targets, 'banks and other high-ranking establishments', should be very worried indeed." 

But let's not get carried away. Paul Carr, writing from San Francisco in the Guardian, says the attacks are not particularly sophisticated. "If one is to believe the media coverage - particularly here in the US‚ no one is safe from the ingenious hackers and their devilishly complex attacks," he writes, before pointing out that flooding a website with traffic until it capsizes, a distributed denial-of-service attack, is not that difficult.

"A mentally subnormal monkey could launch a DDoS attack - except that mentally subnormal monkeys have better things to do with their time."

He adds that 19-year-old recluse Ryan Cleary is exactly the sort of person you would expect to be behind the LulzSec attacks. "When the group's leaders are rounded up it's a fairly safe bet that none of them will turn out to be attractive, outgoing 30-year-old women," he states, concluding that hackers are rebellious teenagers and "absolute, grade A imbeciles". ·