September 13, 2024 at 09:57AM
British authorities announced the arrest of a 17-year-old male in connection with a cyber attack on Transport for London. The attack led to unauthorized access of customer data, including bank account numbers and sort codes. The individual has been released on bail, while the investigation remains ongoing. Another 17-year-old from the same area was previously arrested in connection with a different ransomware attack.
The meeting notes from September 13, 2024, outlined the arrest of a 17-year-old male from Walsall in connection with a cyber attack on Transport for London (TfL). The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed the arrest and the individual was also questioned and subsequently released on bail.
The security breach led to the unauthorized access of bank account numbers and sort codes for around 5,000 TfL customers. TfL will be directly contacting those affected and has confirmed that some customer names and contact details were accessed.
The meeting notes also noted an earlier arrest of a 17-year-old boy from Walsall in connection with a ransomware attack on MGM Resorts, attributed to the Scattered Spider group. It’s not clear if these two events refer to the same individual. Additionally, a 22-year-old U.K. national was previously arrested in Spain for alleged involvement in ransomware attacks carried out by Scattered Spider, a part of a larger collective called The Com.
The meeting notes also highlighted Scattered Spider’s ransomware operations focusing on cloud infrastructures within the insurance and financial sectors, as well as their history of gaining persistent access to cloud environments using sophisticated social engineering tactics and cloud-native tools.
The information raises concerns about the increasing sophistication and impact of cyber-attacks and underscores the importance of ongoing cooperation between law enforcement and affected organizations.