Report: Photo of scantily clad 'girlfriend' leads to hacker

A photo of a scantily clad woman holding a sign taunting US authorities led to the arrest of a hacker who allegedly broke into US government websites. The photo helped US authorities confirm the identity of – and track down – suspect Higinio Ochoa III, according to a report on The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). Ochoa was believed to be a member of "CabinCr3w," a sect of the hacktivist collective Anonymous, the report said. He faces charges from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly hacking into at least four US law enforcement websites, and releasing the private data of police officers. The FBI was led to Ochoa after a Twitter account of one @AnonW0rmer led followers to a site where the data taken from the hacked sites was uploaded. A photo of a woman believed to be Ochoa's girlfriend, taken from the neck down and holding a sign with the message "PwNd by w0rmer & CabinCr3w <3 u BiTch's" was at the bottom of the page. The SMH report said the Twitter account had a second link that led followers to a website against "oppression by police departments around the world … EVERY police department is at risk and will remain that way...." A third website featured a picture of a woman with a sign stating "We Are ALL Anonymous We NEVER Forgive. We NEVER Forget. <3 @Anonw0rmer," the report added. But it was the data on the photo – supposedly taken using an iPhone – that led to Ochoa's arrest. The SMH report said the data on the photo had included GPS coordinates that indicated the address of the house in Australia where the photo was taken. Also, the FBI found references to the "w0rmer" name, one of which had Ochoa's name alongside it. While they put Ochoa's house under surveillance, the clincher was Ochoa's Facebook page, where he supposedly named an Australian woman as his girlfriend. The SMH report said the girlfriend may now be in the United States with Ochoa, who will appear in court this coming week. — LBG, GMA News