British hackers who were behind a series of high profile cyber-attacks in 2011 have been sentenced, BBC News reported.
The four men, Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Mustafa al-Bassam and Ryan Ackroyd, were part of the Lulzsec hacking group.
Cleary was jailed for 32 months, Davis for two years and Ackroyd for 30 months. Al Bassam was given a 20-month suspended sentence.
Targets included Sony Pictures, games maker EA, News International and the UK's Serious Organized Crime Agency.
Each man filled a different role during their cyber-attack spree. Ackroyd was the ring leader of the small group choosing targets and directing the efforts of the others. Davis acted as its press secretary, Cleary provided the software to carry out attacks and al-Bassam posted stolen data online.
Some of the four could face extradition to the U.S. as U.S. law enforcement agencies have lodged indictments against them.
Cleary has also pleaded guilty to possession of images showing child abuse, which were found by police on his hard drive. The sentence for this offence will be given at another hearing.
During the trial Ackroyd, 26, from Mexborough, South Yorkshire, admitted stealing data from Sony.
The former soldier was also responsible for redirecting visitors trying to visit the Sun newspaper's site to a fake story about News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch committing suicide.
He has pleaded guilty to carrying out an unauthorised act to impair the operation of a computer. Bassam, 18, from south London, Davis, 20, from Lerwick, Shetland, and Cleary, 21, from Wickford, Essex, all pleaded guilty to two charges – hacking and launching cyber-attacks against organizations including the CIA and Soca.
In addition, Cleary pleaded guilty to a further four charges, including hacking into the US Air Force's computers and possession of indecent images of babies and children.
Prosecutor Sandip Patel said that unlike the others, Cleary was not a core member of Lulzsec although he had wanted to be.
Lulzsec's name is combination of the acronym Lol – meaning laugh out loud – and security.
