US Accuses Five in ‘Scattered Spider’ Hacking Spree
- $11 million stolen in years-long campaign targeting US firms
- Loosely-knit group consists of young men in US and UK
Five alleged members of the notorious Scattered Spider gang were accused by US prosecutors of a hacking spree that targeted dozens of companies and individuals, resulting in the theft of sensitive data and at least $11 million in cryptocurrency, according to a complaint and indictment unsealed Wednesday.
The defendants relied on a variety of fraudulent techniques, including text phishing and SIM swapping, to obtain legitimate credentials from employees so they could gain unauthorized access to their accounts and company networks between late 2021 and the spring of 2023, according to federal prosecutors in California. They used that access to steal confidential data and to identify and gain access to individuals’ virtual currency accounts and wallets, the US said.