Gardaí release hacking probe suspect

A suspected hacker wanted by the FBI and arrested over cyber plots by online anarchists Anonymous and LulzSec has been released without charge.

Donncha O’Cearrbhail, a county councillor’s son who uses the online name palladium, was detained in Dublin yesterday after being named on a charge sheet from a New York court.

He has been accused of tapping into a conference call the FBI had with Gardaí and other international agencies investigating an international hacking ring in January.

A garda spokesman said the student had been freed this morning while a file on the case was being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

O’Cearrbhail, studying at Trinity College Dublin, was questioned on suspicion of membership of Anonymous and spin-off collective LulzSec.

He was also suspected of hacking into a Garda officer’s personal email and sourcing information on the January conference call before secretly recording it and passing it on to others.

A second Irish student, Darren Martyn, 25, from Galway, with the hacker name pwnsauce, was also named on the charge sheet published by the US Attorney’s office. He has not been arrested.