The man is an IT professional who had access to sensitive information, Australian Federal Police said Australia has charged a 24-year-old man who allegedly defaced a government website earlier this month and claims to be the leader of LulzSec, a rogue inactive hacking group.The man, from Point Clare about 50 miles north of Sydney, was charged with two counts of unauthorized modification of data and one count of unauthorized access. He could face up to 12 years in prison if convicted, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).The man, who was not named, has been released on bail and is scheduled for to appear at Woy Woy local court on May 15, the AFP said in a news release.Police said he is the first alleged member of LulzSec to be charged in Australia. The man is employed as an IT professional and had access to sensitive information, including that of government agencies, and posed a risk if he continued his activities, police said. LulzSec was an offshoot of Anonymous, a loose-knit group of computer hackers that have defaced the websites of corporations and government agencies around the world. LulzSec drew intense law enforcement interest for its successful attacks and prominent bragging of its escapades on Twitter. The group’s targets included the security company HBGary Federal, the Public Broadcasting System, Sony Pictures and Fox.Law enforcement agencies in the U.S., U.K., Spain and the Netherlands all made LulzSec-related arrests, and the group subsequently went quiet. The group’s real leader, Hector Xavier Monsegur, also know as “Sabu,” was secretly arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2011. He pleaded guilty in August 2011 to various hacking charges, and his cooperation with law enforcement resulted in numerous further arrests.Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Follow me on Twitter: @jeremy_kirk Related content news Immersive Labs adds custom 'workforce exercising' for each organizational role With the new workforce exercising capability, CISOs will be able to see each role’s cybersecurity readiness, risk areas, and exercise progress. By Shweta Sharma Sep 27, 2023 3 mins Security Software Security news Sysdig unveils cloud attack graph based on real-time threat data Sysdig also announced a new cloud inventory and agentless scanning capabilities to tackle cloud security risks. By Michael Hill Sep 27, 2023 3 mins Threat and Vulnerability Management Cloud Security Storage Security feature What’s a cyber incident response retainer and why do you need one? Whether you need to hire a team to respond to any and all cyberattacks or just some hired guns to boost your capabilities, incident response retainers can ensure you’re covered. By Linda Rosencrance Sep 27, 2023 8 mins Cyberattacks Incident Response Security Practices brandpost How an integrated platform approach improves OT security By Richard Springer Sep 26, 2023 5 mins Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe