Alleged US government hacker arrested — again
British authorities have arrested a man accused of hacking into multiple U.S. federal agencies.
The man, Lauri Love, 30, was taken into custody on an extradition warrant on behalf of the U.S., according to multiple reports.
{mosads}The warrant alleges that Love infiltrated networks at NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army.
He was initially indicted in the U.S. in 2012 and 2013 for cracking the systems, The Guardian reported.
In late 2013, British officials arrested Love and seized 31 pieces of digital equipment, including laptops, hard drives and thumb drives, before releasing him on bail, according to the BBC.
A year later, his bail was canceled and it seemed investigators may have dropped the case. Authorities returned 25 of the 31 devices confiscated.
Karen Todner, Love’s lawyer, said the new arrest came “out of the blue.” Love will be fighting extradition to the U.S., she added.
U.S. officials have struggled to get suspected overseas hackers to appear before an American judge.
Although the U.S. has an extradition agreement with Britain, most of America’s digital attackers reside in Russia, China and other Eastern European countries, which have proved uncooperative in helping investigations.
The U.S. has indicted hackers in Russia and China, even offering rewards of millions of dollars for their arrest, to no avail.
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