Student charged over Anonymous hacks

A British student was charged today over online attacks by international hacking gang Anonymous.

Peter David Gibson, from Hartlepool, will appear before magistrates next month accused of conspiracy to do an unauthorised act in relation to a computer, Scotland Yard said.

The 22-year-old was arrested in April as part of the force's investigation into a string of high-profile attacks on companies.

Gibson, of Castleton Road, has been granted bail to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 7.

A number of hacking groups have claimed responsibility for distributing denial of service attacks on major companies, where websites are flooded with traffic to make them crash.

PA