FBI executes search warrants in probe of pro-WikiLeaks cyber attacks

FBI agents executed 40 search warrants across the United States as part of an investigation into the latest coordinated cyber attacks against major companies, the agency said.

The UK Metropolitan Police executed search warrants and arrested five people for their alleged involvement in the attacks, the FBI said in a statement Thursday.

A group calling itself "Anonymous" claimed responsibility for the attacks, the FBI said. The attacks were allegedly carried out by people who are active supporters of Wikileaks, but are not affiliated with the site, a source of federal law enforcement.

Late last year the group began to take the campaign against the organizations that have left the site Wikileaks. Under the guise of "Operation Payback" Anonymous Group with success and crashed MasterCard.com site aimed, Visa and PayPal.

Anonymous attacks are not expected to make a hacker, but only through a giant wave of traffic is directed to the site. It's called a DDoS attack, a brief Distributed Denial-of-service and is difficult to defend for most of the sites.

The attacks were facilitated by the software group offers a free download on the Internet, the FBI said in a statement.

Facilitate or carry out such attacks is illegal and punishable by 10 years in prison, the FBI said.