Potent youth cybercrime ring made up of 1,000 people, FBI official says | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"The group known as Scattered Spider is one of the most impactful cybercrime groups working today and has proven elusive to law enforcement so far. \"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Potent youth cybercrime ring made up of 1,000 people, FBI official says\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The group known as Scattered Spider is one of the most impactful cybercrime groups working today and has proven elusive to law enforcement so far. \"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" 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class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/news\/threats\/cybercrime\/\"> <span>Cybercrime<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> The group known as Scattered Spider is one of the most impactful cybercrime groups working today and has proven elusive to law enforcement so far. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says.jpg?resize=640%2C373&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=300,175 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=768,448 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=1024,597 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=1536,896 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=600,350 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=288,168 288w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=578,337 578w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=1157,675 1157w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-2.jpg?resize=1445,843 1445w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1157px) 100vw, 1157px\"><figcaption> Studio shot of an unrecognizable person wearing a dark hoodie standing against a black background. (shapecharge\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"36.391930022573\"><body readability=\"74.020649863346\"><\/p>\n<p>An aggressive, nebulous ring of young cybercriminals linked to a string of recent high-profile breaches is made up of approximately 1,000 people, a senior FBI official said Friday. <\/p>\n<p>In remarks Friday at the cybercrime-focused Sleuthcon conference, Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBI\u2019s Cyber Division, described the group best known as Scattered Spider as a \u201cvery, very large, expansive, disbursed group of individuals,\u201d many of whom don\u2019t know each other directly. <\/p>\n<p>Scattered Spider emanates from an online community known as \u201cthe Com.\u201d The group is also tracked by cybersecurity firms as \u201c0ktapus\u201d or UNC3944, and Vorndran\u2019s remarks provide the best number yet for the total size of the hacking crew. <\/p>\n<p>Scattered Spider has breached a who\u2019s-who of big-name companies, including the casino giant MGM Resorts and the identity management company Okta. Made up of mostly native English speakers in the United States and the United Kingdom, Scattered Spider is classified as a top three cybersecurity threat, alongside China and Russia\u2019s foreign intelligence agency, Vorndran said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Scattered Spider and the broader Com excel in social engineering, including by talking their way into privileged networks by targeting help desks and other key access points. Once inside, they\u2019ve demonstrated immense skill at moving around networks and exfiltrating data and have also shown signs of collaboration with established ransomware groups. <\/p>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/youth-hacking-ring-at-the-center-of-cybercrime-spree\/\">members of the Com were linked<\/a> to an attack last year on MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment that hobbled casino and hotel operations in Las Vegas, it cemented the group\u2019s status as one of the most impactful cybercrime groups working today. <\/p>\n<p>In the days after the MGM attack, <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/youth-hacking-ring-at-the-center-of-cybercrime-spree\/\">researchers told CyberScoop<\/a> that people in the Com form various smaller groups that sometimes work together or battle each other. Some groups advertise violence as a service \u2014 including assaults and throwing bricks through windows \u2014 and in some cases have taken to physical threats against victims to pressure them into paying extortion demands, as <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/com-scattered-spider-tradecraft\/\">Microsoft reported in October 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/cybersecurity\/fbi-struggled-disrupt-dangerous-casino-hacking-gang-cyber-responders-say-2023-11-14\/\">FBI has taken heat<\/a> for a seeming lack of progress in arresting Com members, some of whom are believed to be in the United States, but officials say the agency has taken non-public actions and <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/radio\/fbi-deputy-assistant-director-for-cyber-operations-brett-leatherman\/\">promise more to come<\/a>. In January, authorities in Florida arrested 19-year-old Noah Urban, <a href=\"https:\/\/krebsonsecurity.com\/2024\/01\/fla-man-charged-in-sim-swapping-spree-is-key-suspect-in-hacker-groups-oktapus-scattered-spider\/\">Krebs on Security reported<\/a>, a key figure in the crime ring.<\/p>\n<p>The potent digital and physical threat posed by groups within the Com have some researchers calling for cybercrime to be given the same amount of attention and resources that the cybersecurity industry dedicates to combating state-aligned cyber operations, referred to as \u201cadvanced persistent threats\u201d or APTs. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIn biasing ourselves towards APT versus e-crime, we create a false dichotomy that pushes resources, attention and support to areas that don\u2019t always align with the greatest organizational risks,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sleuthcon.com\/selenalarson\">Selena Larson<\/a>, a senior threat intelligence analyst with cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, said in a talk Friday at Sleuthcon, to cheers from the audience. \u201cYour average organization has a greater threat from cybercrime than government-backed actors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"1.086\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"AJ Vicens\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by AJ Vicens<\/h4>\n<p> AJ covers nation-state threats and cybercrime. He was previously a reporter at Mother Jones. Get in touch via Signal\/WhatsApp: (810-206-9411). <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 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href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/cybercrime\/\" rel=\"category tag\">cybercrime<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/extortion\/\" rel=\"category tag\">extortion<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/federal-bureau-of-investigation-fbi\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/scattered-spider\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Scattered Spider<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/the-com\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Com<\/a>","tag_info":"The 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{"id":3758,"date":"2024-05-24T15:57:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T20:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=80548"},"modified":"2024-05-24T15:57:32","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T20:57:32","slug":"potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/05\/24\/potent-youth-cybercrime-ring-made-up-of-1000-people-fbi-official-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Potent youth cybercrime ring made up of 1,000 people, FBI official says"},"content":{"rendered":"