U.S. prosecutors accuse five members of "Scattered Spider" of stealing at least $11 million in cryptocurrency through hacking

ChainCatcher news reports that, according to the indictment, U.S. prosecutors have charged five members of the "Scattered Spider" gang with hacking dozens of companies and individuals, resulting in the theft of sensitive data and at least $11 million in cryptocurrency. Prosecutors stated that approximately $4 million of the stolen cryptocurrency has been recovered, and investigators are still calculating the total value involved in the data theft.

California federal prosecutors said the defendants used various fraudulent methods, including SMS phishing and SIM swapping, to obtain legitimate credentials from employees in order to gain unauthorized access to their accounts and company networks from late 2021 to spring 2023. U.S. authorities indicated that the defendants exploited this access to steal confidential data and identify and access individuals' cryptocurrency accounts and wallets.

It is reported that Scattered Spider is a decentralized organization that often uses social engineering techniques to trick IT staff into accessing company networks, with some members located in the United States and the United Kingdom.