Investigator says differing names for hacker groups, hackers studying investigative methods hinders law enforcement | CyberScoop<\/title> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cybercrime-investigator-hacker-groups-law-enforcement\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Investigator says differing names for hacker groups, hackers studying investigative methods hinders law enforcement\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Competing agencies and districts are another hurdle for prosecutions, an investigator said in a recent speech.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cybercrime-investigator-hacker-groups-law-enforcement\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-05T11:00:00+00:00\"> <meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Starks\"> <meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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can be submitted for the 2025 CyberScoop 50 awards!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <a class=\"stickybar__link button button-tertiary\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cyberscoop50\/\">Click here!<\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.791946308725\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.233890214797\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cybercrime-investigator-hacker-groups-law-enforcement\/\"> <span>Cybercrime<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Competing agencies and districts are another hurdle for prosecutions, an investigator said in a recent speech. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/83727\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\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=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg 8660w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> Flavio Coelho, 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=\"30.79862475442\"><body readability=\"63\"><\/p>\n<p>Malicious hacking groups pay close attention to public documents related to criminal prosecutions, and the lack of standardized names for those groups hampers U.S. federal law enforcement, an investigator said in a recent speech.<\/p>\n<p>The investigator, who could not be named under the conditions of the speech, said those are just two of many problems facing investigators pursuing cybercriminals in a justice system that was set up long ago and never designed to account for the complexities created by hackers \u2014 who operate across the world and attack targets around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>One particular problem the subject raised was that hacking groups make use of the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThreat actors absolutely love PACER. Most threat actors have a PACER account,\u201d the investigator said. \u201cThey\u2019re studying affidavits. They\u2019re studying how\u201d investigations are opened and conducted.<\/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>Additionally, there\u2019s no automated process for deconflicting cases opened in multiple locations tackling overlapping groups, the investigator noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not easy. It\u2019s really hard,\u201d they said. \u201cGuess what makes it even harder? Fragmented naming landscapes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigator didn\u2019t fault different cybersecurity companies that create their own cybercriminal group names for wanting to market their lexicon. But the inability of law enforcement to lean on one common standard \u2014 for group names, indicators of compromise and tactics, techniques and procedures \u2014 is a problem, they said.<\/p>\n<p>And there are disincentives for law enforcement agencies and agents from different districts to work together. \u201cEveryone wants to get theirs,\u201d they said. \u201cEveryone wants their stats, because that\u2019s what they\u2019re judged on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of the 80 federal law enforcement agencies, 40 have a role in cybercrime investigations, they said. The FBI\u2019s National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force is meant to help with this kind of deconfliction, but it doesn\u2019t work as well as it could because the people selected to work on it are detailed from their agencies rather than assigned, which leads to those detailees still largely just trying to fight for their agency rather than work together. EUROPOL has fewer such conflicts because of assignments, the investigator 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>The investigator said it would be beneficial if personnel were able to work anywhere in the country when they\u2019re working cases that impact their areas of responsibility. For example, an agent in Chicago should be able to work a case on a victim in Idaho given that the crime occurred over the network that everyone is using. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bad guys are virtual,\u201d the investigator noted.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7.7216117216117\">\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\/2025\/03\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Tim Starks\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-card__details\" readability=\"10.901098901099\">\n<h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<p> Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. Email Tim here: <a href=\"mailto:tim.starks@cyberscoop.com\">tim.starks@cyberscoop.com<\/a>. <\/div>\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 class=\"popular-stories__title\"> More Scoops <\/h2>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<section class=\"latest-podcasts\">\n<h2 class=\"latest-podcasts__title\"> Latest Podcasts\t<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"top-categories\">\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Government<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Technology<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/main> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--bottom \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"interstitial\" class=\"welcome__container\"> <button id=\"close-modal-1\" class=\"welcome__clickable_area\"><\/button> <\/p>\n<div class=\"welcome__ad_wrapper\">\n<p> <button id=\"close-modal-3\" class=\"welcome__continue-button\">Continue to CyberScoop<\/button> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>   <\/body> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cybercrime-investigator-hacker-groups-law-enforcement\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investigator says differing names for hacker groups, hackers studying investigative<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[282,2145,3162,2345],"tags":[286,2147,3167,2348],"class_list":["post-7414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cybercrime","category-europol","category-law-enforcement","category-u-s-courts","tag-cybercrime","tag-europol","tag-law-enforcement","tag-u-s-courts"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/cybercrime\/\" rel=\"category tag\">cybercrime<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/europol\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Europol<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/law-enforcement\/\" rel=\"category tag\">law enforcement<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/u-s-courts\/\" rel=\"category tag\">U.S. courts<\/a>","tag_info":"U.S. courts","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":7414,"date":"2025-03-05T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=83727"},"modified":"2025-03-05T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T11:00:00","slug":"investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/03\/05\/investigator-says-differing-names-for-hacker-groups-hackers-studying-investigative-methods-hinders-law-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigator says differing names for hacker groups, hackers studying investigative methods hinders law enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"