Anonymous member convicted for Paypal DDoS

A 22-year-old university student has been convicted in London for his role in the wide-ranging distributed denial of service attacks launched under Anonymous' Operation Payback.

Christopher Weatherhead was convicted by a jury of a criminal conspiracy to impair the operation of computers, the Guardian reports.

He denied taking part in the attacks, saying he was the Anonymous communications manager and creator of online chatrooms where the DDoS attacks were planned.

Operation Payback targeted Paypal, which lost £3.5 million ($5.4 million) over a ten-day attack, and several other sites around the world.

The attacks were motivated by support for Wikileaks and revenge for anti-piracy lawsuits by movie studios.

Three other Anonymous members who are said to have worked with Weatherhead on the attacks have pleaded guilty at an earlier court hearing.

Weatherhead was freed on bail until his sentencing in January, placed under a midnight to 4am curfew at his parents' home and required to wear an electronic tracking bracelet.

He is also banned from using Internet Relay Chat or posting material online under a pseudonym.