4 people have been arrested in the UK as a part of an investigation into the latest cyberattacks concentrating on main retailers, the nation’s Nationwide Crime Company (NCA) introduced.
The suspects are a 20-year-old girl and three males, two aged 19 and one aged 17. They have been arrested within the West Midlands and London within the morning of July 10 at their houses.
They’re suspected of hacking, blackmail, cash laundering, and participation in an organized crime group.
Police seized their digital units and the suspects stay in custody for questioning.
The 4 are believed to have been concerned within the latest cyberattacks on retailers Marks & Spencer (M&S), Co-op, and Harrods.
A ransomware group calling itself DragonForce took credit score for the assaults and the cybersecurity trade has linked the hacks to the infamous cybercrime group named Scattered Spider. The hackers have been later noticed concentrating on US retailers as nicely.
Legislation enforcement companies world wide have been stepping up their efforts towards the cybercrime group. The US charged and arrested a number of alleged members in late 2024, and one particular person has pleaded responsible, however assaults have since continued.
A 22-year-old man from the UK was arrested final month in Spain over his alleged management function within the Scattered Spider group, however the safety trade has since continued issuing warnings. Commercial. Scroll to proceed studying.
Whether or not the latest arrests of alleged Scattered Spider members will have an effect on the group’s actions stays to be seen. Nevertheless, Charles Carmakal, CTO of Google Cloud’s Mandiant Consulting unit, is optimistic.
“The arrests of alleged Scattered Spider members is a major win within the ongoing combat towards this collective,” Carmakal instructed SecurityWeek. “Their aggressive social engineering ways and relentless pursuit of entry have confirmed significantly difficult for a lot of defenders, and resulted in appreciable harm to organizations within the UK and US.”
“This motion by regulation enforcement underscores the vital significance of worldwide collaboration in combating cybercrime. Earlier arrests have impacted their operations, inflicting a major lull in exercise. It is a vital window for organizations to fortify their defenses towards this collective,” he added.
*up to date with feedback from Mandiant
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