Topiary (hacktivist)

Topiary, real name Jake Leslie Davis (born October 27, 1992), is a former hacker. He has worked with Anonymous, LulzSec, and similar hacktivist groups. He was an associate of the Internet group Anonymous, which has publicly claimed various online attacks, including hacking HBGary,Westboro Baptist Church, and Gawker. They have also claimed responsibility for the defacing of government websites in countries such as Zimbabwe,Syria,Tunisia,Ireland, and Egypt.

On February 24, 2011, Topiary gained attention after he appeared on The David Pakman Show. He informed the host that Anonymous had replaced a Westboro Baptist Church webpage with a message from Anonymous during an on-air confrontation with Shirley Phelps-Roper. A recording of this event was placed on YouTube, where it reached over one million views in five days.

Topiary was a member of LulzSec, and ran their Twitter account.The Guardian had reported that Topiary's name was Daniel.

On July 14, 2011, The Guardian published an exclusive interview with Topiary, in which he spoke extensively about his motivations. Describing himself as "an internet denizen with a passion for change" he said he feared being tracked by the authorities: "I can only hope that they haven't pinned any of us, especially my friends from LulzSec." Later, a full transcript of the lengthy interview surfaced on the website of freelance Guardian journalist Ryan Gallagher.

An 18-year-old man suspected of being Topiary was arrested in the Shetland islands of Scotland on July 27, 2011. On July 31, 2011, the man was charged with five offences including unauthorised computer access and conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency's website.Scotland Yard later identified the man arrested as Jake Davis, a resident of the island of Yell. He was charged with unauthorised access of a computer under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, encouraging or assisting criminal activity under the Serious Crime Act 2007, conspiracy to launch a denial-of-service attack against the Serious Organised Crime Unit contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977, and criminal conspiracy also under the Criminal Law Act 1977.

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