FBI Arrests Six LulzSec Hackers: The FBI trumpeted the arrest of five hackers in the United State and abroad on Tuesday in a crippling blow to the hacker ring LulzSec, which is loosely affiliated with the vigilante hacker group Anonymous. The FBI also announced that a sixth defendant and a reported ringleader of Anonymous, Hector Xavier Monsegur, pled guilty on August 15 to 12 counts of computer hacking conspiracies and other crimes. Fox News is reporting that Monsegur, who went by the hacker alias "Sabu", was arrested last summer and has been cooperating with the FBI ever since. The arrests are the latest evidence the era of hackers remaining beyond the reach of law enforcement has largely come to an end.

According to the report, Monsegur worked from an FBI office to obtain information that lead to the arrests of another American as well as two individuals each from Great Britain and Ireland. Monsegur also reportedly helped shut down an attack by LulzSec and other hackers against the CIA's website. LulzSec is accused of conspiring to attack several business including PBS and Sony Pictures Entertainment, and recording a conference call in January between several international law enforcement organizations. Defendant Jeremy Hammond, who was arrested late Monday in Chicago, is accused of hacking into the intelligence firm Stratfor in December, stealing 60,000 credit card numbers and running up $700,000 in unauthorized charges with his co-conspirators. All of those charged are facing serious prison time.

Schumer Sets Up Smartphone Sit Downs: The New York Times reports Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will sit down with Apple and Google to discuss a privacy loophole on their smartphone platforms that gives app makers access to users' photos without their permission. Schumer wrote to the Federal Trade Commission on Sunday asking the agency to investigate the issue, just days after the vulnerability was first reported. Schumer told the Times that both firms were amenable to changing their policies so apps couldn't access private information. Google is bound by the terms of a settlement agreement at the FTC that could result in financial penalties if the agency finds the firm misled customers about their privacy. House E&C Committee Approves FCC Overhaul: The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill (HR 3309) on Tuesday by a vote of 31-16 that would overhaul how the Federal Communications Commission does business. The bill would make it more difficult for the agency to issue regulations, by first requiring the agency to identify a regulatory barrier or market failure and then perform a cost-benefit analysis. The bill would also limit the conditions set on license transfers due to mergers and acquisitions. The bill is not expected to clear the Senate even if it passes the full House; a spokesman with the Senate Commerce Committee confirmed that panel has no plans to take up the issue.

The House panel also approved by voice vote a bill (HR 3310) that would consolidate several telecommunications reports from the FCC and instead substitute a broad report on the state of the communications marketplace.