A second alleged member of a computer hacking group linked to an attack on the computer system of Culver City-based Sony Pictures Entertainment surrendered to federal authorities today.
Raynaldo Rivera, 20, of Tempe, Ariz., was taken into custody in Phoenix upon surrendering, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
He subsequently made an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Phoenix and was ordered to appear in Los Angeles federal court on Sept. 14, Eimiller said.
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned an indictment last week charging Rivera with conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer.
Rivera, also known by the monikers “neuron,” “royal” and “wildicv,” is alleged to have been a member of the group known as LulzSec, or Lulz Security, whose members anonymously claimed responsibility for the Sony attack.
The indictment alleges that in order to carry out the attack, Rivera used a proxy server in an attempt to mask or hide his Internet Protocol address.
Prosecutors allege that Rivera and previously indicted co-defendant Cody Kretsinger, among others, stole confidential information from Sony Pictures’ computer system and distributed the material on LulzSec’s website before trumpeting the attack on Twitter.
The breach caused more than $600,000 in damage, according to court papers.
Kretsinger, 24, pled guilty in April to federal charges of breaking into the Sony system and admitted being a member of the computer hacking group.
The Phoenix resident faces up to 15 years in prison at sentencing Oct. 25 in Los Angeles.
According to the indictment, Sony’s computer system was hacked from May 27 through June 2 last year by the group.
LulzSec is known for its affiliation with the international hacking collective known as Anonymous, which conducts cyber attacks and disseminates information stolen from individuals and companies perceived to be hostile to its interests, federal officials said.
