FBI Arrests Members of Anonymous Hackers Collective: Reports

The FBI has apparently searched several homes across the country as part of a broader investigation into the hacker group Anonymous and arrested several suspected members.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the FBI was seeking out individuals in their late teens and early 20s. Fox News reported that 30 to 40 search warrants had been issued in the case, with arrests of 16 people in states including Florida, New Jersey and California. A spokesperson for the FBI's San Francisco office confirmed that law enforcement actions were under way.

Government officials told CBS News that the FBI had made more than a dozen arrests as part of its investigation into the Anonymous network.

For some months, Anonymous has proven a cyber-thorn for a number of companies and government organizations, including the Central Intelligence Agency and biotechnology firm Monsanto, in the latter case siphoning hundreds of pages of documents that allegedly revealed unethical business practices.

The hacktivist collective also breached consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and dumped log-in information for some 90,000 military and government personnel, including US CENTCOM, SOCOM, the Marine Corps, Air Force facilities, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State and private-sector contractors.

In response to those attacks, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., requested the establishment of a new subcommittee focused on examining data breaches against federal agencies and contractors, with an eye toward informing and reconciling various drafts of cyber-security legislation.