Two men arrested in UK as police investigate Anonymous and LulzSec hacking activities

Two more people have been arrested in the UK as part the on-going transatlantic crackdown on hacktivist group Anonymous and offshoot Lulz Security (LulzSec).

Members of the Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit arrested two men aged 20 and 24 separately in South Yorkshire and Wiltshire. The arrested men were charged with conspiring to commit offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

The arrests bring to at least seven the number of people detained in the UK in connection with the joint anti-hacking investigation by police and the FBI into a series of intrusions and denial-of-service cyber attacks at a number of multinational companies, public institutions and government and law enforcement agencies. At least 20 people have been arrested elsewhere in Europe and in the US for the cyber attacks.

Detective Inspector Mark Raymond of the Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) said: "We are working to detect and bring before the courts those responsible for these offences, to disrupt such groups, and to deter others thinking of participating in this type of criminal activity," according to the Guardian.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos, said the arrests could have a psychological impact on the groups.

"Certainly the police appear to be mopping up a lot of suspected hackers in connection with the Anonymous and LulzSec hacks. If nothing else, that should be something for other budding hacktivists to stew over," Cluley wrote in a blog post.