A man police allege to be one of the most powerful cyber-criminals in the world will face court in New South Wales.

25-year old Matthew Flannery from the New South Wales Central Coast was described as a “considerable risk to society” after his arrest on eight hacking-related charges last year.

Mr Flannery is accused of having hacked into and defaced the Narrabri Shire Council website, though authorities have laid the more serious accusation that he is the leader of ‘LulzSec’, a hacking fraternity responsible for a number of high profile attacks.

Mr Flannery, or ‘Aush0k’ as he was known online, was originally facing charges which would have carried over a decade of jail time, but reports before his latest appeal said there were likely to have been downgraded.

Given the high level of internet assault LulzSec is known for, many in the community have suggested that a small regional council’s homepage is a less-than-appealing target. 

While the town of Narrabri is home to the Australia Telescope Compact Array, it is extraordinarily unlikely that any element of it would be linked to the council’s website, which is understood to have been hosted on a Windows server at GoDaddy in Singapore.

After a recent appearance in Woy Woy Local Court, the matter was adjourned to Gosford Local Court for a two-day hearing in July. It was downgraded from a planned hearing at District Court to the Local Court, reflecting the reduction in certain charges.

There has been strong speculation online that Mr Flannery was set up by a disgruntled peer in the black hat community.