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Five invisible hackers became defendants in the case of a scandalous group.
The US Department of Justice has indicted five alleged members of the Scattered Spider group, who stole millions of dollars from crypto wallets from September 2021 to April 2023 using stolen credentials. Both individuals and companies were attacked.
Scattered Spider specializes in social engineering attacks, posing as technical support specialists, and uses phishing and smishing techniques to steal the data of employees of targeted organizations.
According to the investigation, the defendants organized a series of attacks, sending phishing SMS to employees of various companies. The messages contained notifications, for example, about the blocking of an account or VPN network, and links to fake sites imitating company portals. On such sites, users entered sensitive data, including accounts and two-factor authentication codes.
The stolen credentials were used to extract sensitive information, including databases, intellectual property, and personal data. The collected information was used to hijack victims' email accounts using the SIM Swapping method, which allowed the criminals to control phone numbers and crypto wallets, transferring funds to their own accounts.
Among the defendants are 4 US citizens and 1 British citizen aged 20 to 25 years. Each of the defendants faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, 5 years for conspiracy and an additional mandatory 2-year sentence for identity theft.
Scattered Spider, also known as 0ktapus, Scatter Swine, Octo Tempest, is a group of English-speaking hackers with different levels of training. The group's organizational structure is flexible, making it difficult to track activity and tie attacks to specific individuals. The attack on MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment last year, which led to the disruption of casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, has significantly strengthened Scattered Spider's status in the cybercriminal community.
In June, a key member of Scattered Spider, a 22-year-old British citizen, was detained in Spain when he tried to board a flight to Italy. And in July, a 17-year-old teenager fell into the hands of the police in the UK.
Earlier, FBI representatives suggested that the group consists mainly of young people and even teenagers. It is quite possible that it is because of their young age and a certain degree of maximalism that the attackers use such harsh methods.
Source
The US Department of Justice has indicted five alleged members of the Scattered Spider group, who stole millions of dollars from crypto wallets from September 2021 to April 2023 using stolen credentials. Both individuals and companies were attacked.
Scattered Spider specializes in social engineering attacks, posing as technical support specialists, and uses phishing and smishing techniques to steal the data of employees of targeted organizations.
According to the investigation, the defendants organized a series of attacks, sending phishing SMS to employees of various companies. The messages contained notifications, for example, about the blocking of an account or VPN network, and links to fake sites imitating company portals. On such sites, users entered sensitive data, including accounts and two-factor authentication codes.
The stolen credentials were used to extract sensitive information, including databases, intellectual property, and personal data. The collected information was used to hijack victims' email accounts using the SIM Swapping method, which allowed the criminals to control phone numbers and crypto wallets, transferring funds to their own accounts.
Among the defendants are 4 US citizens and 1 British citizen aged 20 to 25 years. Each of the defendants faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud, 5 years for conspiracy and an additional mandatory 2-year sentence for identity theft.
Scattered Spider, also known as 0ktapus, Scatter Swine, Octo Tempest, is a group of English-speaking hackers with different levels of training. The group's organizational structure is flexible, making it difficult to track activity and tie attacks to specific individuals. The attack on MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment last year, which led to the disruption of casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, has significantly strengthened Scattered Spider's status in the cybercriminal community.
In June, a key member of Scattered Spider, a 22-year-old British citizen, was detained in Spain when he tried to board a flight to Italy. And in July, a 17-year-old teenager fell into the hands of the police in the UK.
Earlier, FBI representatives suggested that the group consists mainly of young people and even teenagers. It is quite possible that it is because of their young age and a certain degree of maximalism that the attackers use such harsh methods.
Source
