Hector Xavier Monsegur (born 1983),[1] known also by the online pseudonym Sabu (pronounced Sə'buː, Sæ'buː),[2] is an American computer hacker and co-founder of the hacking group LulzSec.
[3] Monsegur became an informant for the FBI, working with the agency for over ten months to aid them in identifying the other hackers from LulzSec and related groups while facing a sentence of 124 years in prison.
[4][5] LulzSec intervened in the affairs of organizations such as News Corporation, Stratfor, UK and American law enforcement bodies and Irish political party Fine Gael.
[6] Sabu featured prominently in the group's published IRC chats,[7][8] and claimed to support the "Free Topiary" campaign.
Following the arrest of his father and his aunt for selling heroin, Monsegur moved to the Riis Houses (also known as the projects) in New York City with his grandmother.
Although Anonymous does not have any formal leadership structure, the direction of the collective tended to be steered by a small number of members with a high amount of technical skill and domineering personalities.
[13][14] Sabu was identified by rival hacker group Backtrace Security as "Hector Montsegur" [sic] on March 11, 2011, in "Namshub," a PDF publication (named after the Sumerian word for "incantation").
Describing him, she wrote "[He was a] wiry, yet, muscular, Latino man... many locals knew Sabu and treated him with deference-out of respect or fear, I can't say which.
[19] As an informant, Monsegur provided the FBI with details enabling the arrest of five other hackers associated with the groups Anonymous, LulzSec and AntiSec.