Sabu. .. Sentencing delayed

LAW & DISORDER / CIVILIZATION & DISCONTENTS FBI still needs Hector “Sabu” Monsegur, sentencing delayed (again) The former Lulzsec hacker has become one of the government's best assets. Photo illustration by Aurich Lawson This morning at 10am, Anonymous hacker/FBI informant Hector "Sabu" Monsegur was scheduled to be sentenced in a New York
federal court. But when I called the judge's chambers this morning, I was told that the sentencing had been adjourned—again. No
explanation was given. Monsegur has been subject to several of these delays already, most recently on the morning of his previous sentencing hearing back in February. The government generally sends in a last-minute letter explaining that it requires Monsegur's special service
for another six months. That has likely happened again, though the US Attorney's office handling the case has not yet responded
to a request for comment. Monsegur, who had assisted in high-profile hacks of security firm HBGary and others, began cooperating with the FBI in June
2011 after his arrest at the Jacob Riis public housing complex in New York City. His work began immediately, and he helped the government build cases against numerous Anonymous hackers, including Stratfor hacker Jeremy Hammond. He has apparently also assisted the government in its investigation of Wikileaks. Hammond, currently serving a sentence in prison, posted a statement on Monsegur yesterday that levels some new charges about his cooperation with the FBI. "It is widely known that Sabu was used to build cases against a number of hackers, including
myself," Hammond wrote. "What many do not know is that Sabu was also used by his handlers to facilitate the hacking of
targets of the government’s choosing—including numerous websites belonging to foreign governments. What the United States
could not accomplish legally, it used Sabu, and by extension, me and my co-defendants, to accomplish illegally." For its part, the New York FBI office for which Monsegur's handlers work believes that its work arresting Monsegur and the other
members of Lulzsec had a "huge deterrent effect" on Anonymous and sowed an extra layer of mistrust. That's according to
Austin Berglas, who heads the cybercrime division in the FBI's New York office. "The movement is still there, and they're still
yacking on Twitter and posting things, but you don't hear about these guys coming forward with those large breaches," he told the Huffington Post this week. "It's just not happening, and that's because of the dismantlement of the largest players." Despite his cooperation, it is Monsegur who continues to deal with the fallout from his hacking, even as his former Anonymous/
Lulzsec colleagues have moved on. Jake "Topiary" Davis, former spokesperson and chief jokemaker for Lulzsec, said in a
recent online question-and-answer session that he eventually pled guilty in part to avoid a Sabu-style fate. "What, and be hunted/monitored mercilessly for the rest of my life by begrudging authorities with the power to flip the tables on
your life with a few pieces of paper at any given turn?" he responded when asked why he turned over the encryption keys to his
computer. "No thanks, I'll play ball with the encryption keys and say, 'you caught me, I wasn't good enough, fair play, let's get
this over with.' And now it's over—for me. Perhaps not for others. Probably the snitches. Ironic, isn't it?" Davis has now served his sentence, and though he operates under some remaining restrictions (no contacting members of
Anonymous or Lulzsec), his Lulzsec days are behind him. Monsegur's, apparently, are not.