A 23-year-old Arizona man arrested on Thursday in connection with the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment last May was a model student who saw himself one day defending networks at the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency.

Wired.com’s Threat Level, the Associated Press, and other news outlets are reporting that Tempe, Ariz. based Cody Andrew Kretsinger is believed to be a member of the LulzSec group, an offshoot of the griefer collective Anonymous. According to the indictment against Kretsinger, he was involved in executing and later promoting the high-profile and costly attack on Sony’s networks. Sony estimates that the breaches would cost it more than $170 million this year.

Kretsinger is a network security student at Tempe, Ariz. based University of Advancing Technology, according to Robert Wright, director of finance for UAT. A cached page from UAT’s Web site shows that Kretsinger was named student of the month earlier this year. That page, which indicates Kretsinger was to graduate from the institution in the Fall semester of 2011, includes an interview with the suspected LulzSec member. In it, Kretsinger says he would like to work at the DoD after graduating.

Where do you want to work after graduation?

“I hope that I’ll be able to work for the Department of Defense. From what I hear, they’re pretty good at what I want to do.“

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

“Traveling, doing Network Security as a profession with the Department of Defense. While I wouldn’t mind being a penetration tester, I think it’s a lot more fun to try to build and secure a network and its devices from the ground up. I suppose I wouldn’t mind being in management, either.”

What’s the ultimate dream for your life?

“Good secure job, great family, maybe a ’64 GTO or something to that effect. I think a job with the NSA or Department of Defense is my ultimate dream.

I hope that I’ll be able to work for the Department of Defense. From what I hear, they’re pretty good at what I want to do.”

Kretsinger may have a difficult time finding work in the public sector. In June, LulzSec claimed responsibility for hacking into computers at the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s computers and releasing hundreds of law enforcement files. The hacking group also claimed to have breached the websites of the CIA and the U.S. Senate.

Read the rest of the interview at this link cached by Google. A copy of the interview is saved as an image file above.

Tags: Andrew Kretsinger, Associated Press, Department of Defense, Lulzsec, national security agency, Sony Pictures Entertainment, University of Advancing Technology, wired.com