The beginning of the end for NullCrew; A federal prosecutor is charging a Tennessee man with allegedly conspiring and attacking a series of businesses and educational institutions since mid-2012.
According to court documents, Timothy Justin French (aka “Orbit”) is part of the notorious hacking group NullCrew, who have claimed responsibility for a series of high-profile attacks on telecommunications companies, educational institutions, and government agencies.
The FBI arrested Timothy Justin French at his Morristown home last Wednesday, "without incident," and is still searching for the remaining members of the NullCrew group.
According to the complaint affidavit, the FBI's operation to arrest him used an unnamed "witness" who will likely remain unnamed. This witness was ultimately responsible for tracking French.
Through this, the feds were able to engage in live conversations with NullCrew members on Skype, Twitter, and the open source encrypted messaging system Cryptocat.
During the conversations, the anonymous “witness” was able to learn the group’s plans and future goals, and gather information about vulnerabilities and the hacking methods they use.
The FBI used the witness's data to locate and track an IP address which, ultimately, led them to French's door.
NullCrew emerged on July 13, 2012, when it successfully breached the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
The group has since allegedly carried out attacks against British universities, the British Ministry of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and other major businesses, such as Comcast and Bell Canada.
French, who has been charged with conspiracy, fraud and computer misuse, is alleged to have been involved in five cyberattacks launched by NullCrew.
