Galway hacker faces up to 20 years if convicted

Date Published: 07-Mar-2012

A Claregalway man is facing the prospect of up to 20 years in a US prison after he was named this week by the FBI as a founder member of an international internet hacking group.

Darren Martyn from Cloonbiggeen, Claregalway, is charged with two counts of computer hacking conspiracy – each conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

Mr Martyn is alleged by the FBI to be a member of ‘LulzSec’, a group of internet hackers that is a spin-off of the Anonymous hacking group. Both groups have launched numerous cyber attacks on high profile websites around the world.

Mr Martyn, a biopharmaceutical chemistry student at NUI Galway and a past pupil of Calasanctius College, Oranmore, is listed in the FBI’s court papers as being 25, however, it is understood he is only 19 or 20.

He along with four others, including one Offaly teenager Donncha O’Cearbhail (19), and three others in the UK and US, were charged this week in New York for computer hacking and other crimes.

The FBI claims that Mr Martyn (also known as ‘pwnsauce’, ‘‘raepsauce’ and ‘networkkitten’) and the other defendants named in court papers, “launched cyber attacks on, and gained unauthorised access to,” the websites and computers of Fine Gael, Sony, internet security firm HBGary and Fox broadcasting.

When contacted by the Connacht Tribune, his mother Lisa pleaded for privacy and said: “It is a very upsetting time for the family”.

The FBI issued a statement saying the 24-page indictment against My Martyn and the other defendants are “merely accusations” and they remain “innocent unless and until proven guilty”.

People who know Mr Martyn describe him as a quiet, shy, highly intelligent man who has always had an interest in computers. He has been honoured with awards in the past for his science and technology skills at Calasanctius College, where he completed his Leaving Certificate two years ago. His mother Lisa works in the Claregalway Naíonra and his father, Anthony, is a mechanic. They were described by locals yesterday as a “lovely, decent family”.

All posts were deleted from Mr Martyn’s ‘wall’ on social networking site Facebook on Tuesday night but his lists of activities remain, including ‘Hacking Computers’, ‘Ethical Hacking’ and ‘Lock Picking’. He lists as his employers, ‘Resident Pirate’ at Nyan Cat. There are also pictures uploaded on his Facebook page, apparently showing how to intercept emails and hack websites.

He is reported to have taken to the internet Tuesday night to say he was a “reformed hacker” and that he was “bloody frightened” by the FBI investigation.

The Irish Examiner also quoted Mr Martyn as saying he “knew it would come out eventually” and that being involved in illegal hacking was “probably the most stupid thing you could do”.

He was referenced by his username, pwnsauce, in a confidential conference call between the Metropolitan Police in London and the FBI, which was intercepted by hackers and posted onto the internet recently. During that phone call, the FBI said they had an extensive file on his activities.

Mr Martyn was this week charged in the Southern District of New York District Court.

The 24-page FBI indictment states that Mr Martyn is a leading member of LulzSec. The FBI has linked him to the online break-in of the Fine Gael website in 2011.

Last year Gardaí from the Dublin based Computer Crime Investigation Unit arrested him and Mr O’Cearbhail and they were questioned separately for a day at Tullamore and Galway Garda Stations. They were detained under Section 4 of the 1984 Criminal Justice Act and Gardaí confirmed at the time that computer and other media equipment had been seized. He was subsequently released without charge.

In the FBI indictment, it is claimed that Mr Martyn was one of the members of the Anonymous organisation, which took responsibility for hacking Visa, Mastercard and PayPal websites, who formed the splinter hacking group LulzSec.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.