As European leaders weigh their options in response to controversial widespread surveillance by a U.S. spy agency, a UK hacker was indicted in New Jersey this week after targeting networks belonging to federal agencies.

The investigation claims that thousands of government computer systems were hacked into. Confidential information from more than 5,000 military service members and government employees was allegedly stolen. The goals of the conspiracy were to steal the confidential information and disrupt U.S. government operations and infrastructure.

As a result, Lauri Love, 28, of Stradishall, England, was charged with accessing a U.S. department or agency computer without authorization and a count of conspiracy. Love also is charged in a criminal complaint in Virginia.

The computer systems belonged to the U.S. Army, U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – “resulting in millions of dollars in losses,” according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.

UK investigators collaborated on the inquiry including those from the Cyber Crime Unit of the National Crime Agency (NCA).

“Lauri Love and conspirators hacked into thousands of networks, including many belonging to the United States military and other government agencies,” Fishman said in a statement. “As part of their alleged scheme, they stole military data and personal identifying information belonging to servicemen and women. Such conduct endangers the security of our country and is an affront to those who serve.”

Love and the other suspects communicated their plans in chat forums known as internet relay chats (IRCs.) They also used SQL injection attacks. “Structured Query Language is a type of programming language designed to manage data held in particular types of databases; the hackers identified vulnerabilities in SQL databases and used those vulnerabilities to infiltrate a computer network,” according to the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office. They also used a hacking method called cold fusion.

“Once the network was infiltrated, Love and his conspirators placed malicious code, or malware, on the system. This malware created a ‘back door or ‘shell,’ leaving the system vulnerable and helping Love and the conspirators maintain access to the network,” the statement added.

The other suspects included two people in Australia and one in Sweden. Love faces up to five years in prison and fines for each count.

“Computer intrusions present significant risks to national security and our military operations,” Daniel Andrews, director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Computer Crime Investigative Unit, said in the statement.

In an indictment, Love was described as a "sophisticated and prolific computer hacker who specialized in gaining access to the computer networks of large organizations, including government agencies, collecting confidential data including personally identifiable information from within the compromised networks, and exfiltrating the data out of the compromised networks.”

Love is the son of a British Baptist minister, according to the Daily Mail. The newspaper also described him as “a leader in the Occupy protest movement” in Scotland. He allegedly carried out the hacking at “his parents’ semi-detached” home.

Meanwhile, European leaders want to see a stop to controversial U.S. surveillance methods used by the NSA. It monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone conversations, and those of other world leaders, and the communications involving many private individuals in Europe. The European leaders are angry that the NSA used such practices on nations which are considered allies of the United States.