Two More LulzSec, Anonymous Suspects Picked Up in UK - TIME

The noose appears to be tightening around hacktivist groups LulzSec and Anonymous: Two men, aged 24 and 20, were just picked up for reported connections to online attacks by the groups in recent months.

The two apparently shared the hacker identity "Kayla," a name associated with Anonymous and attacks on California-based Internet security firm HBGary earlier this year. Forbes interviewed Kayla in March, and at the time, described "her" as "your average 16-year-old [who] regularly hangs out with friends, works part time at a salon and hopes one day to be a teacher," though the site noted it couldn't "fully verify her age or gender."

(MORE: Why LulzSec's Disbanding Doesn't Really Mean Much at All)

Techland's Jerry Brito reported in Junethat a couple of "gray-hat" hackers were attempting to unmask personas linked to Lulz Security, or LulzSec, the group that split from Anonymous, reportedly, over disputes about the group's political purpose. The two were already then claiming Kayla was in fact a man. So one man...or two—where faceless hackers don't fear to tread, who's counting?

The Guardian says the two men are charged for violating the Computer Misuse Act 1990, a U.K. parliamentary act whose three criminal offenses include up to five years' imprisonment and fines (for each offense) of up to £5000 (about $8,100 USD). The police searched one of the locations and snatched computer equipment.

"The arrests relate to our inquiries into a series of serious computer intrusions and online denial-of-service attacks recently suffered by a number of multi-national companies, public institutions and gPressovernment and law enforcement agencies in Great Britain and the US," said Metro Police Detective Inspector Mark Raymond. "We are working to detect and bring before the courts those responsible for these offences, to disrupt such groups, and to deter others thinking of participating in this type of criminal activity."

The Twitter account associated with the Kayla persona, @lolspoon, has been silent since Thursday.

MORE: As LulzSec Claims CIA Coup, 'Anonymous' Hackers Arrested Worldwide

Matt Peckham is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @mattpeckham or on Facebook. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.