LulzSec attacks, shuts down Brazilian government Websites

LulzSec, a shadowy group which has claimed responsibility for a string of high-profile computer hacks, has apparently managed to bring down several major targets in Brazil, including the Websites of the Brazilian government and the President's office. "Tango down," LulzSec trumpeted on its Twitter feed – a phrase used to describe the obliteration of an enemy.

Later, LulzSec followed that tweet up with a second: "Our Brazilian unit is making progress. Well done @LulzSecBrazil, brothers!" As of this morning, both Brazilian sites remain offline.

Meanwhile, yesterday investigators from Scotland Yard arrested Ryan Cleary, a 19-year-old British man suspected of various cyber crimes, including assaults on major US and UK government sites. "[T]he investigation into [Cleary's] activities was being driven by the FBI, and it seems likely they will want to have him extradited to the US so they can question him about attacks on American websites," a source told the Daily Telegraph.

LulzSec high command, for its part, has denied that Cleary took part in any major LulzSec operations. "Ryan Cleary is not part of LulzSec; we house one of our many legitimate chatrooms on his IRC server, but that's it," the group announced on its Twitter feed. "Clearly the UK police are so desperate to catch us that they've gone and arrested someone who is, at best, mildly associated with us. Lame."

Well, maybe Anonymous can help LulzSec bail Cleary out of the clink. As we reported on Monday, over the weekend, LulzSec, a relatively new group of Internet pranksters, announced it would team up with Anonymous to wreak digital destruction across the Web. "We encourage any vessel, large or small, to open fire on any government or agency that crosses their path," reads a LulzSec statement.