Computer hacking suspect in court

A man accused of computer hacking for online activists "LulzSec" was appearing in court here Friday, police said. Ryan Mark Ackroyd, 25, is charged as part of a major Scotland Yard and FBI inquiry. He is accused of two counts of conspiracy to "do an unauthorised act with intent to impair or with recklessness impairing of an operation of a computer". The Serious Organised Crime Agency is among websites said to have been targeted in Distributed Denial of Service Attacks by LulzSec. The attacks involve the bombarding of websites with so many visitors that it becomes inaccessible to genuine users. Ackroyd from Doncaster, northern London, is the last of four alleged members of LulzSec, a spin-off of the loosely organised hacking collective Anonymous, to appear in court. He was appearing on bail at Westminster Magistrates Court after a 17-year-old entered the dock at West London Youth Court earlier this week to face the same charge. Jake Davis, 18, and Ryan Cleary, 19, also appeared in court last autumn accused of targeting a string of websites. LulzSec was formed last May. Lulz is internet slang that can be interpreted as "laughs", "humour" or "amusement". Visa, MasterCard and PayPal (payment system on line) were identified as targets by authorities.