Christopher Weatherhead

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Christopher Weatherhead
Other namesNerdo
OccupationStudent
Known forOperation Payback

Christopher Weatherhead, also known by his alias "Nerdo", is a Northampton University student who was jailed for his involvement in several cyberattacks by Anonymous.[1]

Anonymous[]

Weatherhead has been an active leader for Anonymous, a loose-knit group of "hacktivists". It was reported that Weatherhead hosted an election of Anonymous members to pick the group's next target.[1]

Operation Payback[]

Weatherhead played a large role in Operation Payback, a series of cyberattacks conducted by Anonymous against various organizations because the hackers "did not agree with their views."[2][3] In particular, Weatherhead was known for his work on Operation Avenge Assange, which was part of Operation Payback as a whole. Operation Avenge Assange focused on disrupting PayPal and other payment sites that despite transferring funds indiscriminately for other organisations, including neonazi organisations, would not process transfers to the Wau Holland Foundation, which raises funds for WikiLeaks, after attention shifted from companies involved in digital rights.[4][5] Weatherhead reportedly was instrumental in bringing down PayPal for 10 days, resulting in £3.5million in losses for the company.[4]

In January 2013, Weatherhead was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in the denial-of-service attacks on PayPal, Visa and MasterCard in December 2010.[2] An officer involved in bringing in Weatherhead said that he was particularly easy to find because he had been using the nickname "Nerdo" for "quite some time".[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Anonymous hackers jailed for cyber attacks". The Guardian. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b Cockerton, Paul (24 January 2013). "Anonymous hackers jailed for cyber attacks on financial firms and anti-piracy websites". Mirror UK. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Anonymous 'Hacktivist' Christopher Weatherhead guilty of cyber attacks". Standard. 6 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b Shaw, Adrian (6 December 2012). "'Nerdo' hacker guilty: Student helped Anonymous bring down Paypal for 10 days". Mirror UK. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Updates on Leak of U.S. Cables, Day 9". The New York Times. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  6. ^ Leyden, John (14 December 2012). "UK cops: How we sniffed out convicted AnonOps admin 'Nerdo'". The Register. Retrieved 25 April 2013.


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