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Did they catch the wrong guy?

The British police said Wednesday that they had arrested a 19-year-old hacker who goes by the online name Topiary, and is believed to be the spokesman for the hacker group Lulz Security. But on Thursday, the Web was abuzz with speculation about the events, with many asking if the police had been duped by hackers into arresting the wrong man.

Hackers and security experts who have been tracking LulzSec for months say that the police had in fact arrested someone who uses the name Topiary online. But a trail of evidence in the form of Internet Relay Chats, or IRC, and online videos posted on YouTube, led many to think that the real Topiary was still on the run.

A group calling themselves the Web Ninjas, who publish a blog called LulzSec Exposed, posted evidence that the real Topiary is most likely a 23-year-old man from Sweden. The Web Ninjas have said this in the past when they posted a series of documents exposing who they think is Topiary and other members of LulzSec. The Web Ninjas also cite evidence of a video interview with Topiary that was posted on YouTube when he belonged to the hacker group Anonymous.

As we have written in the past, hackers use the term dox, as in documented, when they expose a person’s true identity online. Members of LulzSec were apparently doxed months ago, although most LulzSec members denied the accuracy of the documents.

The British police did not respond to a request for comment about Wednesday’s arrests.

Another hacker who goes by the name The Jester online and has been actively tracking LulzSec and Anonymous members, posted a private chat log that took place between Topiary and another unknown hacker. In a portion of the chat, which can be seen below, Topiary admits that he has stolen his online alias from another person, whom he refers to as a “troll” and who lives in the north of England, the same area where police made an arrest on Wednesday.

[removed]: ah, well, you should keep low man

Topiary: I can’t at this point, I need to just straight up deny it 100% and flaunt it everywhere

Topiary: but I trust you, you know how it is

Topiary: if I go hide then people will assume the dox are right

Topiary: so I’ll just act like they failed hard

[removed]: True that – so you need to make a big show of disproving them

Topiary: yeah well, this is my plan:

Topiary: (as you know I stole this nickname from a troll last December, didn’t work out so well)

Topiary: I’ll just keep denying it until they try to go after the troll

Topiary: then they’ll think that’s me and harass him

[removed]: then he harasses back?

Topiary: yeah but if I deny my real dox enough, people will go looking for other dox

Topiary: then nobody will believe I’m me

Topiary is believed to be the main spokesman for LulzSec, often communicating with the public via the LulzSec Twitter feed and Web site. He is known for his sly writing and sarcastic yet playful language.

Although Topiary has announced several times in the past that he plans to retire from LulzSec and public hacking, he often re-enters the spotlight days later.