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Find out how teen cybercrime is becoming a new online threat.
Over the past two years, a number of high-profile cyber attacks have one thing in common – the involvement of a small online community of mostly young people who make audacious intrusions into networks.
The community, dubbed "the Com," is playing a key role in a wide range of online crimes, including recent attacks on resorts in Las Vegas that severely disrupted the operations of several well-known hotels and casinos. Researchers emphasize that the appearance of "the Com" shows the need for a tougher approach on the part of legislators and cybersecurity specialists to the problem of cybercrime among young people.
Teenagers and young adults under the age of 20 are increasingly committing high-profile hacks, demonstrating a high level of skill and openly bragging about their exploits in language full of racism and misogyny, with "the Com" serving as a radicalizing medium for some of these cybercriminals.
Politicians and cybersecurity experts tend to underestimate this criminal environment compared to the threat from hackers linked to states. However, recent hacks show that a new generation of hackers has high capabilities.
According to the researchers, people from one of the subgroups of "the Com" called "Star Fraud" are probably involved in the recent attacks on Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, demonstrating the seriousness of the threat from this ecosystem.
Earlier, the hacker group ALPHV claimed responsibility for the attacks on Caesars and MGM. Experts believe that in fact the group behind this was Scattered Spider, associated with ALPHV and consisting of hackers from the United States and Britain, skilled in social engineering.
However, the term "Scattered Spider" is not accurate, as the researchers stated at LABScon, because it combines the actions of several different and sometimes competing groups within the "the Com" ecosystem into one whole. Groups imitate each other and learn each other's tactics, but they are different.
The attacks coming from "The Com" go far beyond the recent hacks in Las Vegas. This year hackers attacked Nvidia, Samsung, Microsoft and other large corporations. According to the researcher, some members of "The Com" got into this community, like children in toxic online groups where radicalization occurs. "Here, radicalization is cybercrime and the maximum manifestation of low human qualities," he said.
In an August report, the Cyber Safety Review Board recommended that Congress consider funding programs to prevent juvenile cybercrime as part of a "community-based" approach to youth cybercrime.
The FBI has been involved in several investigations involving individuals associated with "the Com" for alleged brutality. In a May 2023 FBI agent's statement, "the Com" was described as a "cybercriminal group" that is "geographically diverse" and organizes subgroups to carry out various types of criminal activities, including cyber intrusions, SIM swapping, cryptocurrency theft, organizing real violence, and "Swatting" - the practice of sending armed rapid response teams to the scene victims under false pretenses.
Cybersecurity companies describe this group of online cybercriminals as highly skilled social engineering hackers, especially because there are many native English speakers among their members who are adept at contacting tech support services and convincing technicians to give out corporate credentials.
The researchers who presented the data at LabsCON warn that these young cybercriminals are now collaborating with global ransomware syndicates with a history of ransomware attacks around the world and tens of millions of dollars in ransoms paid.
The Com's role in attracting these young hackers to a life of crime is similar to the well-documented problem of how toxic online communities can radicalize children, one of the researchers said. "Radicalization manifests itself in cybercrime and becoming the worst possible person," the researcher said.
Over the past two years, a number of high-profile cyber attacks have one thing in common – the involvement of a small online community of mostly young people who make audacious intrusions into networks.
The community, dubbed "the Com," is playing a key role in a wide range of online crimes, including recent attacks on resorts in Las Vegas that severely disrupted the operations of several well-known hotels and casinos. Researchers emphasize that the appearance of "the Com" shows the need for a tougher approach on the part of legislators and cybersecurity specialists to the problem of cybercrime among young people.
Teenagers and young adults under the age of 20 are increasingly committing high-profile hacks, demonstrating a high level of skill and openly bragging about their exploits in language full of racism and misogyny, with "the Com" serving as a radicalizing medium for some of these cybercriminals.
Politicians and cybersecurity experts tend to underestimate this criminal environment compared to the threat from hackers linked to states. However, recent hacks show that a new generation of hackers has high capabilities.
According to the researchers, people from one of the subgroups of "the Com" called "Star Fraud" are probably involved in the recent attacks on Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, demonstrating the seriousness of the threat from this ecosystem.
Earlier, the hacker group ALPHV claimed responsibility for the attacks on Caesars and MGM. Experts believe that in fact the group behind this was Scattered Spider, associated with ALPHV and consisting of hackers from the United States and Britain, skilled in social engineering.
However, the term "Scattered Spider" is not accurate, as the researchers stated at LABScon, because it combines the actions of several different and sometimes competing groups within the "the Com" ecosystem into one whole. Groups imitate each other and learn each other's tactics, but they are different.
The attacks coming from "The Com" go far beyond the recent hacks in Las Vegas. This year hackers attacked Nvidia, Samsung, Microsoft and other large corporations. According to the researcher, some members of "The Com" got into this community, like children in toxic online groups where radicalization occurs. "Here, radicalization is cybercrime and the maximum manifestation of low human qualities," he said.
In an August report, the Cyber Safety Review Board recommended that Congress consider funding programs to prevent juvenile cybercrime as part of a "community-based" approach to youth cybercrime.
The FBI has been involved in several investigations involving individuals associated with "the Com" for alleged brutality. In a May 2023 FBI agent's statement, "the Com" was described as a "cybercriminal group" that is "geographically diverse" and organizes subgroups to carry out various types of criminal activities, including cyber intrusions, SIM swapping, cryptocurrency theft, organizing real violence, and "Swatting" - the practice of sending armed rapid response teams to the scene victims under false pretenses.
Cybersecurity companies describe this group of online cybercriminals as highly skilled social engineering hackers, especially because there are many native English speakers among their members who are adept at contacting tech support services and convincing technicians to give out corporate credentials.
The researchers who presented the data at LabsCON warn that these young cybercriminals are now collaborating with global ransomware syndicates with a history of ransomware attacks around the world and tens of millions of dollars in ransoms paid.
The Com's role in attracting these young hackers to a life of crime is similar to the well-documented problem of how toxic online communities can radicalize children, one of the researchers said. "Radicalization manifests itself in cybercrime and becoming the worst possible person," the researcher said.
