Canadian hacker and self-proclaimed Anonymous co-founder finally gets his comeuppance after targeting conservatives and bragging about it on social media like the cyber-terrorist he is.

At a Glance

• Aubrey Cottle, 37, a Canadian hacker known as “Kirtaner” and alleged Anonymous co-founder, has been arrested for hacking the Texas Republican Party website in 2021
• He faces charges for stealing sensitive user data, defacing the website, and distributing the stolen information online as retaliation against Texas abortion laws
• Cottle could face up to five years in prison for unlawfully transferring, possessing, and using identification means with intent to commit unlawful activity
• Evidence shows Cottle bragged about the hack on social media, and stolen data was found on his electronic devices
• He is also linked to a data breach of Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo in February 2022

Left-Wing Hacker Faces Justice After Targeting Conservatives

It’s about time! After years of targeting conservatives with impunity, a self-proclaimed co-founder of the notorious hacker collective Anonymous has finally been arrested. Aubrey Cottle, the 37-year-old Canadian who operates under the alias “Kirtaner,” was taken into custody in Oshawa, Ontario, for his alleged 2021 cyber attack on the Texas Republican Party’s website. You know, because nothing says “I respect democracy” quite like illegally hacking into your political opponents’ servers and stealing their supporters’ personal information.

The Department of Justice isn’t playing around with this one. Cottle is charged with unlawfully transferring, possessing, and using identification means with intent to commit unlawful activity – a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The cyber attack wasn’t just about defacing a website; it involved the theft of sensitive data containing personal identifying information of Texas GOP members and supporters, which was subsequently distributed online. This isn’t harmless political activism; it’s a criminal violation of Americans’ privacy rights.

🚨 DOJ Nabs Alleged Anonymous Hacker Aubrey Cottle for Texas GOP & GiveSendGo Breaches—Justice Served! 🚨

🔥 Finally, some accountability! On March 26, 2025, the DOJ nabbed Aubrey Cottle, a 37-year-old Canadian hacker known as “Kirtaner,” for the 2021 Texas GOP website breach.… pic.twitter.com/sjYcBEI5uZ

— PitunisWorld 🌎 (@ScMesab) March 30, 2025

The Digital Tantrum Over Texas Abortion Law

What triggered this supposed cyber-vigilante to target Texas Republicans? According to investigators, Cottle’s attack was retaliation for the Texas Heartbeat Act, a law protecting unborn children with detectable heartbeats from abortion. Apparently, when progressives don’t get their way democratically, some feel justified in resorting to illegal means to punish those who disagree with them. On September 11, 2021, Cottle allegedly gained unauthorized access to a third-party web hosting system called Epik to deface the Texas GOP’s website and download a backup of their web server.

The hack included a politically charged message criticizing Texas’s political actions. But Cottle wasn’t content with just vandalizing the site – he had to brag about it. Reports indicate he publicly claimed responsibility for the attack on social media. This digital peacocking ultimately contributed to his downfall, as authorities were able to trace the attack back to him. When investigators searched his electronic devices, they reportedly found the stolen data in his possession. So much for covering your tracks, “Mr. Filthy blackhat but good boi,” as he describes himself on LinkedIn.

A Pattern of Political Cyber Attacks

This isn’t Cottle’s first rodeo. Investigators have also linked him to a data breach of the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo in February 2022. That hack exposed the personal information of people who donated to the Canadian trucker convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions. Notice a pattern here? Conservative and Christian websites seem to be the primary targets for this self-proclaimed cyber warrior. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Karthik Srinivasan and investigated by the FBI Austin Cyber Task Force, with assistance from Canadian law enforcement.

The arrest of Aubrey Cottle sends a clear message that politically motivated cyber attacks have consequences, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you claim to represent. While the left often glorifies Anonymous and similar hacker collectives as freedom fighters when they target conservative groups, let’s call this what it is – criminal activity that victimizes innocent people whose only “crime” was supporting political causes the hackers disagree with. Perhaps Cottle will have plenty of time behind bars to reflect on the difference between legitimate political activism and criminal behavior.