Scattered Spider, a loosely organised cybercrime group, is infamous for terrorising a string of large organisations in recent years. — Reuters
An accused teenage hacker who was arrested last month in California is suspected of being a member of the notorious cybercrime group Scattered Spider, according to several people familiar with the matter.
US prosecutors charged Remington Ogletree on Oct 30 with wire fraud in relation to alleged crimes conducted from October 2023 through May 2024.
Ogletree, 19, was arrested in California within a week of the charges, according to the government’s request for detention. He’s an expert in phishing, and is suspected of working with Scattered Spider by using this technique to gain access to corporations, said two people familiar with the matter. They declined to name those organisations.
Scattered Spider, a loosely organised cybercrime group, is infamous for terrorising a string of large organisations in recent years. Authorities say it’s largely made up of young men in the US and the UK who use social engineering techniques to trick workers to gain access to company networks. Members of Scattered Spider have been tied to attacks on MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment Inc, Coinbase Inc and others.
The latest charges signal that law enforcement is continuing to pursue suspects tied to the hacking group.
Five alleged members of the gang were recently accused by US prosecutors in a hacking campaign that resulted in the theft of sensitive data and at least US$11mil in cryptocurrency, according to a complaint and indictment unsealed last month. Court filings don’t identify the names of the victims in that case, but one of them was Riot Games Inc, according to a person familiar with the matter. Riot Games declined to comment. UK police in July also arrested a 17-year-old his alleged role in the group.
It’s unclear which Scattered Spider activities Ogletree is alleged to have been involved in or to which victims the charges are related.
The teenager has been on law enforcement’s radar for his alleged involvement in the Com, according to three people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The large, international group is made up mostly of young male SIM-swappers who organised on Telegram and Discord Inc to steal cryptocurrency by taking control of victims’ phone numbers.
Ogletree’s case is before a federal court in New Jersey. He was released Nov 19 on US$50,000 bail, according to court documents. Attorneys for the defendant didn’t respond to request for comment.
The charges against Ogletree remain under seal. Authorities forced Ogletree to hand over his devices, according to court records describing the conditions of his release. He was also prohibited from registering, purchasing or maintaining any internet domain names, the court records stated.
Domain names are a critical part of phishing campaigns. Scattered Spider has previously used that technique to dupe unwitting employees to hand over corporate credentials, allowing hackers into their employers’ information technology systems.
Ogletree is also barred from using messaging apps Telegram and Signal, or participating in online gambling, according to the court documents. – Bloomberg
