Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Police Say Arrests 'Effectively Halted' Scattered Spider Cybercrime CollectiveTwo leaders of the Scattered Spider hacking group received 66-month jail sentences in Britain's biggest cybercrime prosecution to date, after they disrupted London's transport authority, causing $39 million in losses and recovery costs. How to deter young hackers remains an ongoing challenge.

Owen Flowers, 18, and Thalha Jubair, 20, were each sentenced to five and a half years at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, 16 July 2026, for the 2024 hack of Transport for London

Two leading members of the Scattered Spider cybercrime collective were sentenced to five years and six months in prison each for hacking Transport for London (TfL) in 2024. [...]

Anarchic Western Adolescent Hacking Groups Appear to Defy Easy CategorizationSome cybersecurity entities are groups, with office hours and vacation time. But others, such as Scattered Spider and other Com spinoffs, are largely comprised of adolescent hackers and extortionists, and often display more anarchic behavior that makes their efforts tougher to combat.

A teenager accused of hacking as part of Scattered Spider has been arrested

A teenager accused of belonging to the hacking group Scattered Spider has been extradited from Finland to face U.S. charges of conspiracy, computer intrusion, and fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on July 1

Two young British men have pleaded guilty to hacking Transport for London as part of a Scattered Spider plot

A 19-year-old dual United States and Estonian citizen arrested in Finland earlier this month faces federal charges in the U.S. alleging he was a prolific member of the notorious Scattered Spider hacking collective. [...]

A 24-year-old British national and senior member of the cybercrime group "Scattered Spider" has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. Tyler Robert Buchanan admitted his role in a series of text-message phishing attacks in the summer of 2022 that allowed the group to hack into at least a dozen major technology companies and steal tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from investors.

Two British teenagers have denied charges related to an investigation into the breach of Transport for London (TfL) in August 2024, which caused millions of pounds in damage and exposed customer data. [...]

U.S. prosecutors last week levied criminal hacking charges against 19-year-old U.K. national Thalha Jubair for allegedly being a core member of Scattered Spider, a prolific cybercrime group blamed for extorting at least $115 million in ransom payments from victims. The charges came as Jubair and an alleged co-conspirator appeared in a London court to face accusations of hacking into and extorting several large U.K. retailers, the London transit system, and healthcare providers in the United States.

Juvenile Male Tied to Hack Attacks Against MGM Resorts and Caesars EntertainmentThe net continues to close on suspected members of the notorious ransomware-wielding group called Scattered Spider, with Las Vegas police announcing the arrest of a teenage, juvenile male suspect tied to 2023 attacks that hit MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.

Law enforcement authorities in the U.K. have arrested two teen members of the Scattered Spider hacking group in connection with their alleged participation in an August 2024 cyber attack targeting Transport for London (TfL), the city's public transportation agency

Two teenagers, believed to be linked to the August 2024 cyberattack on Transport for London, have been arrested in the United Kingdom. [...]

Extortionists Detail Fresh Victims, Although Sensitivity of Stolen Data UnclearExtortionists tied to the Scattered Spider and ShinyHunters hacking collectives have begun naming victims and leaking data via a new, dedicated Telegram channel. Many of the breaches appear to trace to social engineering attacks that gained attackers access to a victim's Salesforce instance.

Scattered Spider hackers have been aggressively targeting virtualized environments by attacking VMware ESXi hypervisors at U.S. companies in the retail, airline, transportation, and insurance sectors. [...]

Hacking Tactics Linked to Retail, Airline CompromisesThe loosely connected band of adolescent cybercriminals tracked as Scattered Spider has joined the VMware hypervisor hacking bandwagon, pivoting into virtual servers through corporate instances of Active Directory. vSphere integration with Active Directory adds a yet another layer of insecurity.

Keep It Simple, Stupid Interview Scattered Spider and Iranian government-backed cyber units have more in common than a recent uptick in hacking activity, according to Ariel Parnes, a former colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces' cyber unit 8200.…

Suspects Tied to April Ransomware Attacks Against Retailers M&S, Co-Op, HarrodsThe U.K.'s National Crime Agency on Thursday arrested in England four suspected members of the Scattered Spider cybercrime collective, as part of an ongoing investigation into major, disruptive hack attacks in April against major retailers Marks & Spencer, the Co-Op and Harrods.

Adolescent Hacking Group Switches Focus to New SectorThe band of English-speaking adolescent hackers collectively tracked as Scattered Spider are focusing on the airliners - and possibly preparing a pivot to the oil and gas sector. Its loose membership tends to hyperfocus on single sectors at a time.