Federal authorities have arrested a Texas man accused of working for the hacking group CabinCr3w, a group that once targeted Goldman Sachs CEO LLoyd Blankfein.
Higinio Ochoa, a resident of Texas, was taken into custody by FBI agents on March 20 and charged with unauthorized access to a protected computer in a criminal complaint dated March 15. The exact nature of Ochoa’s crime isn’t described, a document posted on the Web site Pastebin.com and purported to be a”confession” by Ochoa alleges that he was arrested for his involvement in a February, 2012, attack on the Texas Department of Public Safety. The post also claims that Ochoa had been working as an informant for the FBI prior to his arrest.
CabinCr3w is an Anonymous-like group that voiced support for the Occupy Wall Street movement, and carried out a variety of hacks and online protests in support of it. The group famously leaked personal information and e-mail addresses for the senior leadership of investment bank Goldman Sachs in September, 2011.
Few details of the case against Ochoa are publicly available, and the FBI declined to comment on the case.
Court documents indicate he first appeared in federal court for the Southern District of Texas on March 21. He was subsequently released on bail and forbidden to use a computer or smart phone.
However, the post on pastebin, dated March 31st, claims to be a confession posted by Ochoa. In it, he claims to have been arrested at home by eight agents from the FBI and to have worked as an informant, pointing the Bureau to other members of CabinCr3w.
“Were you ever approached to be a confidential informant? Of course I was! Some body (sp) such as myself who not only participated in the occupy movement but knew many and knew the inner workings of the ‘infamous’ cabin crew (sp) would not be just put away without wondering if he could be turned. I did how ever (sp) tell FBI (sp) that I would participate in the capture of my fellow crew mates,” the statement reads.
It hasn’t been confirmed that the statement attributed to Ochoa was, in fact, posted by him or by someone claiming to be him. A post on the Twitter account associated with CabinCr3w points to the Pastebin document in a post, dated Tuesday, that reads “Higochoa (AKA w0rmer) to snitch on the #CabinCr3w.”
According to the conditions of his bail, Ochoa was required to refrain from using computers, smart phones or the Internet. In addition, the Twitter account attributed to him, @Anonw0rmer, has been inactive since March 20, raising the possibility that the “confession” is merely an effort to discredit Ochoa. The statement does provide details of his arrest and detainment by the FBI and Texas authorities, including the name of the FBI agent who signed the complaint against him. However, that information could have been gleaned from court documents.
In other respects, the “confession” is rambling, with “Ochoa” claiming to have acted to protect those close to him, to sow confusion within the FBI and rid the world of “apathy and a willingness to protect oneself over others.”
The arrest is just the latest to hit high-profile hacking groups. Notably: in March Federal law enforcement agents arrested Hextor Xavier Monsegur, a 28 year old New York City resident better known as “Sabu,” a top member of Lulz Security. Monsegur, it turns out, had been cooperating with the authorities.
