UK jails two linked to Scattered Spider for 5.5 years

Two men linked to the Scattered Spider hacking group were sentenced to five years and six months in prison after entering guilty pleas at Woolwich Crown Court on June 22 and being sentenced on Thursday, the National Crime Agency and City of London Police reported.

British investigators have linked members of Scattered Spider to a series of ransomware and extortion campaigns that targeted companies in the United Kingdom and the United States. U.S. prosecutors reported the group collected about $115 million in cryptocurrency ransoms from at least 47 U.S. firms and connected it to roughly 120 network intrusions.

One incident tied to the group affected London’s public transport network in September 2024, producing about 29 million pounds in losses and recovery costs. U.S. authorities also linked the group to a September 2023 breach of Caesars Entertainment that involved theft of a large customer database and a $15 million ransom paid in Bitcoin.

U.S. law enforcement targeted the group’s finances in 2024. In July 2024 the FBI seized about $36 million in cryptocurrency from wallets linked to Scattered Spider, the Justice Department reported.

Matthew Galeotti, then acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, described the attacks as causing widespread disruption to U.S. businesses and organizations, including critical infrastructure and the federal court system.

The National Crime Agency and City of London Police noted their investigations, conducted with U.S. counterparts, helped identify and charge individuals involved in the campaign. The agencies did not provide specific details about the roles of the two men sentenced.