Key facts
- Two individuals linked to the Scattered Spider hacking group were sentenced to prison in the UK.
- The hackers pleaded guilty to charges related to the group's activities.
- Scattered Spider is accused of extorting $115 million in cryptocurrency from at least 47 US companies.
- The group has been linked to ransomware attacks, including one on London's public transport network.
- The FBI seized approximately $36 million in cryptocurrency from wallets associated with the group.
Two individuals associated with the cybercrime group Scattered Spider have been sentenced to five years and six months in prison in the United Kingdom. The sentencing follows their guilty plea at Woolwich Crown Court on June 22. British authorities, including the National Crime Agency and City of London Police, identified the pair as part of Scattered Spider, a group implicated in significant ransomware and cryptocurrency extortion attacks targeting companies in both the UK and the US.
US prosecutors have linked Scattered Spider to the collection of approximately $115 million in cryptocurrency ransom payments from at least 47 companies across the United States. The group is also accused of breaching the security of Caesars Entertainment in September 2023, leading to a $15 million ransom payment in Bitcoin. The attacks attributed to Scattered Spider have reportedly caused widespread disruption to businesses, critical infrastructure, and even the federal court system in the US.
Further investigations by the FBI, as detailed in a DOJ release, led to the seizure of about $36 million worth of cryptocurrency from wallets allegedly controlled by members of the group. Authorities have linked the group to at least 120 computer network intrusions.