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March 8, 2012

Anonymous hurt by arrests but hard to kill

In turning one of its best-known hackers into an informant and breaking open the highest profile elements of the "Anonymous" movement, authorities have dealt a serious blow to a group they found a growing irritant.

But as the broader "Anonymous" label -- complete with its iconic Guy Fawkes mask imagery -- is used by ever more disparate causes worldwide, it may be all but impossible to shut it down for good.

U.S. authorities revealed on Wednesday that leading Anonymous hacker "Sabu" -- real name Hector Xavier Monsegur, aged 28 -- had been arrested last June in his apartment in a small Manhattan housing complex.

According to a newly released court transcript, he agreed to cooperate with authorities in return for leniency -- helping U.S. prosecutors bring charges against five more men, including two in Britain and two in Ireland. All had also been previously arrested.

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