A new wave of cyberattacks targeting the financial sector has been tied to the notorious hacking group known as Scattered Spider, raising serious doubts about the group’s recent claims that they were ceasing all operations. According to the threat intelligence firm ReliaQuest, evidence suggests that the group has shifted its focus to financial services. This is supported by an increase in “lookalike” domains created to mimic legitimate businesses within the industry, as well as a recently identified breach of a U.S. banking organization. This activity directly contradicts the group’s public statements about disbanding.
ReliaQuest’s investigation into the recent attack revealed a sophisticated approach. The hackers first gained access by using social engineering to trick an executive into resetting their account password through Azure Active Directory Self-Service Password Management. Once inside, they were able to access sensitive documents related to IT and security. The attackers then moved laterally through the company’s Citrix and VPN environments and compromised VMware ESXi infrastructure to dump credentials and further infiltrate the network, demonstrating a deep understanding of corporate IT systems.
To escalate their privileges within the network, the attackers reset a Veeam service account password and assigned it global administrator permissions in Azure. They also relocated virtual machines to evade detection. The group’s ultimate goal appears to be data theft, as there are also signs that Scattered Spider attempted to exfiltrate data from various repositories, including Snowflake and Amazon Web Services (AWS). This aligns with their reputation for financially motivated cybercrime and shows their focus on high-value targets.
The recent activity suggests the group’s announcement was a smokescreen to distance themselves from increasing law enforcement scrutiny. Scattered Spider is a loose-knit collective that is part of a larger online entity called The Com. They have a strong overlap with other cybercrime groups, including ShinyHunters and LAPSUS$, to the point that they’ve been collectively referred to as “scattered LAPSUS$ hunters.” This collaboration has also been linked to extortion efforts after data theft, with ShinyHunters reportedly extorting victims after another group, UNC6040, initially compromised their systems.
This incident serves as a crucial reminder for organizations not to become complacent. Much like ransomware groups, cybercriminals rarely truly “retire.” They often regroup or rebrand under a different name to avoid pressure from law enforcement and continue their criminal activities. The claim that Scattered Spider is retiring should be viewed with a high degree of skepticism. This is likely a strategic move rather than a genuine disbanding.
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