LulzSec

"I thought he was playing computer games in his bedroom"

This quote, uttered by Ryan Cleary's bewildered mother as cops swooped on her extended bungalow in Wickford, demonstrates the gaping chasm that exists between this generation's tech savvy geeks and the parents who raised them.

For the uninitiated Ryan Cleary is the teenager who was arrested yesterday on suspicion of master minding a global computer hacking operation from his bedroom in Essex. The student is thought to be the leader of LulzSec - a group claiming responsibility for hacking into the databases of gaming giants Sony and Nintendo.

I can’t help but feel a perverse sense of pride that the ‘global cyber villain’ in question is a 19 year old lad from Essex. Looks like Britain really does have talent.

Ryan's Home in Wickford, Essex

Ryan has two computer monitors in his bedroom from where is alleged to have masterminded the cyber attacks. Note the two scantily clad women above his desk: the perfect muse for world domination.

Ryan's mother, Rita (right), said her son rarely left his bedroom. 'He's a complete recluse, he would only come out of his room to use the bathroom'.

Hacker group LulzSec brought down the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)

LulzSec wasted no time in claiming responsibility for Monday's Soca attack on its Twitter page, see top right.

On the offensive: LulzSec announced its operation to bring down high-profile websites on Twitter.

Who are LulzSec?

Lulz Security's rise to prominence has been extraordinarily fast.

The hacking group first emerged in May and in the past few weeks has attacked the websites of some of the world's leading corporations and governments.

It is regularly abbreviated to LulzSec, which breaks down into two parts - Lulz refers to 'LOL' (laugh out loud), while Sec is short for security.

The group specialises in locating websites with poor security and then stealing information from them and posting it online.

The attacks do not appear to be financially motivated - instead, LulzSec seems content to receive international recognition for embarrassing some of the world's largest companies.

Not all the attention has been negative, either, as some cyber experts have praised LulzSec for exposing the inadequacy of online defences without maliciously exploiting these weaknesses.

The first LulzSec attack on record took place against the Fox.com website in late April - the hackers gained access to emails and passwords of hundreds of employees.

In a matter of weeks, the group has claimed responsibility for breaching the security of conglomerates including Nintendo, Sony, the NHS, the CIA and Soca.