Authorities Arrest Four Hackers Linked To Uk Retail Hacking Spree

In Brief

U.K. authorities confirmed connected Thursday they had arrested 4 individuals for allegedly carrying retired a bid of hacks earlier this twelvemonth targeting nan British unit sector, including Marks & Spencer, Harrods, and nan Co-op.

The National Crime Agency said a female aged 20, 2 men aged 19, and a younker aged 17, were arrested connected Thursday astatine locations crossed nan U.K. nether suspicion of hacking, blackmail, money laundering, and participating successful an organized crime group.

The suspects weren’t named, but were taken into custody successful narration to nan hacks, nan NCA said.

Starting successful April, hackers started breaking successful and stealing customer information from nan Co-op, and later Marks & Spencer. Both intrusions were attributed to Scattered Spider, a collective of hackers and techniques that usage impersonation and deception strategies to instrumentality telephone centers and institution thief desks into granting them entree to their networks. 

The hackers allegedly utilized their entree to let a ransomware pack called DragonForce to deploy its file-encrypting malware connected Marks & Spencer’s network. The Co-op reportedly avoided nan ransomware by pulling down its ain web earlier nan hackers could activate nan malware. Harrods, too, said it rebuffed overmuch of a cyberattack.

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