Thomas Reuters' deputy social media editor Matthew Keys, 26, has been indicted on three criminal counts related to allegedly aiding members of the Anonymous hacking collective. The events that led to the indictment reportedly occurred before Keys joined Reuters.
The indictment was made by the grand jury in Sacramento, Calif. on Thursday, March 14.
David Girardin, spokesperson for Reuters, confirmed that Keys has been suspended from his duties at the New York-based multinational media and information firm.
"Keys did not immediately respond to a request for comment," Reuters says. (The irony of Reuters not being able to get a comment from Reuters is not to be missed here.)
"Still fine," Keys tweeted. "To clarify this tweet from yesterday, I found out about the *indictment* from Twitter."
Tweets Keys posted both before and after this one included similar sentiments, with the phrase "I'm okay" repeated throughout.
According to Keys' Facebook page, he saw his deputy social media editor job as a simple matter of being "paid to use Twitter and Facebook at work."
The indictment alleges that previous to Keys' taking on duties at Reuters in January 2012, Keys granted Anonymous hackers access to Tribune Co. computer systems in December 2010, with the result of Tribune's Los Angeles Times website being modified soon thereafter by one of the hackers.
Keys lives in New Jersey and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 12 in Sacramento, according to the court docket of case, United States of America v. Matthew Keys, 13-82.
Anonymous started as a hactivist group in 2003 and strongly opposes Internet surveillance/censorship. In the past, members of this loosely associated group have also hacked government websites. Other issues that instill rage in Anonymous members include Scientology, government corruption and homophobia.
Its members often don the Guy Fawkes mask made popular in the sci-fi film "V for Vendetta."
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