Latest news with #TheCom
NZ Herald
30-04-2025
- NZ Herald
British teens linked to cyber-attack on Marks & Spencer
He is alleged to have been behind the September 2023 hack of Las Vegas casino operators Caesar's Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, causing widespread disruption at some of the city's most high-profile venues. Buchanan, a Scot who is understood to have been remanded in custody after being detained while trying to take a charter flight between Spain and Italy, was charged this month alongside four American men, all of whom are below the age of 25. Hacks continue Last year, a 17-year-old from Walsall was also arrested in the UK in connection with the same Las Vegas hacks. West Midlands Police did not respond to a request for an update on his case. Nonetheless, the arrests have not stopped the gang's ongoing activities. Scattered Spider is thought to have most recently targeted Marks & Spencer, forcing the multinational retailer to halt its online sales for the past five days. The attack has wiped millions of pounds from the London Stock Exchange-listed company's market value, even emptying shelves at some of its shops. Aiden Sinnott, a senior threat researcher with cyber security company Sophos' Secureworks unit, said that Scattered Spider is a 'nihilistic' part of a much deeper online subculture that engages in 'depraved and outrageous things'. Murky scene Known for attracting 'English-speaking' teenagers and young men to its ranks, the gang first emerged on the murky cyber crime scene around June 2022. 'They're not like a traditional [organised crime] group in that there's no kind of structured hierarchy,' Sinnott said. 'In terms of personas and who's behind them, it's quite difficult to pin down, because it is kind of an online collective that operates behind usernames.' The hack that affected M&S meant that the retailer was forced to stop accepting online orders. The cyber security expert added that Scattered Spider is believed to be an offshoot of a much darker online community called The Com. This group is known for its kudos-beats-all ethos, where its members attempt to one-up each other in the most horrible ways possible to gain online status and prestige. Depraved acts In this warped subculture, nothing is off limits – be it renting Russian ransomware to target a high-street retailer or even child abuse. The Com's members have been linked to claims that they would egg each other on to coerce children into performing depraved acts on webcam, up to and including self harm. Using their advanced hacking skills, The Com's members threatened to expose their victims to friends and family unless their demands were met. 'It just seems to be almost nihilistic – there's no real financial motivation,' Sinnott said. 'It seems to be about gaining kudos within the group. And that kudos comes from doing increasingly depraved and outrageous things.' Scattered Spider's members, while closely linked to The Com, are thought to be more motivated by money and prestige for pulling off heists against high-profile companies. Their British and American origins mean that, unlike when Russian cyber-criminals target the West, 'they are within reach of law enforcement', Sinnott said. Cut of a ransom Cyber-security experts believe that Scattered Spider has rented a piece of Russian-made hacking software – ransomware – called DragonForce. In a ransomware attack, the attackers encrypt – forcibly scramble – business-critical computer files and then demand a hefty ransom to unscramble them again. DragonForce's creators would expect a cut of the ransom as their fee for renting out the software to Scattered Spider. Royal Mail, which was targeted by Russian hackers in 2021 amid similar circumstances, faced a £67 million ($151m) demand. It chose not to pay. Most businesses choose not to pay the ransom in similar circumstances, although for some it is a less painful option than rebuilding entire corporate systems and processes from scratch. Marks & Spencer has declined to comment on the cyber-attack to date.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
The British teenagers behind ‘depraved' cyber attacks
British teenagers have been linked to the online gang thought to have targeted Marks & Spencer in a major cyber-attack. Known as Scattered Spider, the gang is best described as a loose online collective of English-speaking young men. Previous arrests of its members, in connection with different incidents, have revealed that they hail from the UK and the US. Tyler Robert Buchanan, 23, a Briton who US prosecutors claim is Scattered Spider's leader, was arrested at a Spanish airport last June. He is alleged to have been behind the September 2023 hack of Las Vegas casino operators Caesar's Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, causing widespread disruption at some of the city's most high-profile venues. Mr Buchanan, a Scot who is understood to have been remanded in custody after being detained while trying to take a charter flight between Spain and Italy, was charged earlier this month alongside four American men, all of whom are below the age of 25. Last year, a 17-year-old from Walsall was also arrested in the UK in connection with the same Las Vegas hacks. West Midlands Police did not respond to a request for an update on his case. Nonetheless, the arrests have not stopped the gang's ongoing activities. Scattered Spider is thought to have most recently targeted Marks & Spencer, forcing the multinational retailer to halt its online sales for the past five days. The attack has wiped millions of pounds from the London Stock Exchange-listed company's market value, even emptying shelves at some of its shops. Aiden Sinnott, a senior threat researcher with cyber security company Sophos' Secureworks unit, said that Scattered Spider is a 'nihilistic' part of a much deeper online subculture that engages in 'depraved and outrageous things'. Known for attracting 'English-speaking' teenagers and young men to its ranks, the gang first emerged on the murky cyber crime scene around June 2022. 'They're not like a traditional [organised crime] group in that there's no kind of structured hierarchy,' Mr Sinnott said. 'In terms of personas and who's behind them, it's quite difficult to pin down, because it is kind of an online collective that operates behind usernames.' The cyber security expert added that Scattered Spider is believed to be an offshoot of a much darker online community called The Com. This group is known for its kudos-beats-all ethos, where its members attempt to one-up each other in the most horrible ways possible to gain online status and prestige. In this warped subculture, nothing is off limits – be it renting Russian ransomware to target a high-street retailer or even child abuse. The Com's members have been linked to claims that they would egg each other on to coerce children into performing depraved acts on webcam, up to and including self harm. Using their advanced hacking skills, The Com's members threatened to expose their victims to friends and family unless their demands were met. 'It just seems to be almost nihilistic – there's no real financial motivation,' Sinnott said. 'It seems to be about gaining kudos within the group. And that kudos comes from doing increasingly depraved and outrageous things.' Scattered Spider's members, while closely linked to The Com, are thought to be more motivated by money and prestige for pulling off heists against high-profile companies. Their British and American origins mean that, unlike when Russian cyber-criminals target the West, 'they are within reach of law enforcement,' Sinnott said. Cyber-security experts believe that Scattered Spider has rented a piece of Russian-made hacking software – ransomware – called DragonForce. In a ransomware attack, the attackers encrypt – forcibly scramble – business-critical computer files and then demand a hefty ransom to unscramble them again. DragonForce's creators would expect a cut of the ransom as their fee for renting out the software to Scattered Spider. Royal Mail, which was targeted by Russian hackers in 2021 amid similar circumstances, faced a £67 million demand. It chose not to pay. Most businesses choose not to pay the ransom in similar circumstances, although for some it is a less painful option than rebuilding entire corporate systems and processes from scratch. Marks & Spencer has declined to comment on the cyber-attack to date. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
29-04-2025
- Telegraph
The British teenagers behind ‘depraved' cyber attacks
British teenagers have been linked to the online gang thought to have targeted Marks & Spencer in a major cyber-attack. Known as Scattered Spider, the gang is best described as a loose online collective of English-speaking young men. Previous arrests of its members, in connection with different incidents, have revealed that they hail from the UK and the US. Tyler Robert Buchanan, 23, a Briton who US prosecutors claim is Scattered Spider's leader, was arrested at a Spanish airport last June. He is alleged to have been behind the September 2023 hack of Las Vegas casino operators Caesar's Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, causing widespread disruption at some of the city's most high-profile venues. Mr Buchanan, a Scot who is understood to have been remanded in custody after being detained while trying to take a charter flight between Spain and Italy, was charged earlier this month alongside four American men, all of whom are below the age of 25. Last year, a 17-year-old from Walsall was also arrested in the UK in connection with the same Las Vegas hacks. West Midlands Police did not respond to a request for an update on his case. Nonetheless, the arrests have not stopped the gang's ongoing activities. Scattered Spider is thought to have most recently targeted Marks & Spencer, forcing the multinational retailer to halt its online sales for the past five days. The attack has wiped millions of pounds from the London Stock Exchange-listed company's market value, even emptying shelves at some of its shops. Aiden Sinnott, a senior threat researcher with cyber security company Sophos' Secureworks unit, said that Scattered Spider is a 'nihilistic' part of a much deeper online subculture that engages in 'depraved and outrageous things'. Known for attracting 'English-speaking' teenagers and young men to its ranks, the gang first emerged on the murky cyber crime scene around June 2022. 'They're not like a traditional [organised crime] group in that there's no kind of structured hierarchy,' Mr Sinnott said. 'In terms of personas and who's behind them, it's quite difficult to pin down, because it is kind of an online collective that operates behind usernames.' The cyber security expert added that Scattered Spider is believed to be an offshoot of a much darker online community called The Com. This group is known for its kudos-beats-all ethos, where its members attempt to one-up each other in the most horrible ways possible to gain online status and prestige. In this warped subculture, nothing is off limits – be it renting Russian ransomware to target a high-street retailer or even child abuse. The Com's members have been linked to claims that they would egg each other on to coerce children into performing depraved acts on webcam, up to and including self harm. Using their advanced hacking skills, The Com's members threatened to expose their victims to friends and family unless their demands were met. 'It just seems to be almost nihilistic – there's no real financial motivation,' Sinnott said. 'It seems to be about gaining kudos within the group. And that kudos comes from doing increasingly depraved and outrageous things.' Scattered Spider's members, while closely linked to The Com, are thought to be more motivated by money and prestige for pulling off heists against high-profile companies. Their British and American origins mean that, unlike when Russian cyber-criminals target the West, 'they are within reach of law enforcement,' Sinnott said. Cyber-security experts believe that Scattered Spider has rented a piece of Russian-made hacking software – ransomware – called DragonForce. In a ransomware attack, the attackers encrypt – forcibly scramble – business-critical computer files and then demand a hefty ransom to unscramble them again. DragonForce's creators would expect a cut of the ransom as their fee for renting out the software to Scattered Spider. Royal Mail, which was targeted by Russian hackers in 2021 amid similar circumstances, faced a £67 million demand. It chose not to pay. Most businesses choose not to pay the ransom in similar circumstances, although for some it is a less painful option than rebuilding entire corporate systems and processes from scratch.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
One of Elon Musk's DOGE Boys Reportedly Ran a Disgusting Image Hosting Site Linked to Domains About Child Sexual Abuse
The hits just keep coming. As investigative journalists work to piece together who exactly Elon Musk has working on his DOGE team, the picture is getting more and more despicable. When news first broke that Musk's underlings had taken over the Office of Personnel Management, all we knew about one staffer was that he was of the wise, responsible age of 19. We now know that staffer's name is Edward Corstine, a recent high-school grad who signs as "Big Balls" online. Corstine brings a wealth of experience to his new State Department roll as a senior advisor, including a stint as a camp counselor and repairing bikes. More notably, he spent a small chunk of time interning at Musk's Neuralink venture — no doubt the bona fide that landed him his current gig. But that's not all the teenager brings to the table. New reporting by MuskWatch, an independent publication by former Vanity Fair journalist Caleb Ecarma, has revealed a file-sharing website created by a then 16-year-old Coristine called According to Ecarma's reporting, numerous domains with horrifying web addresses — including " " and " — formerly redirected to Coristine's site, though the specific content they were pointing to no longer appears to exist. Corstine's website advertised that it was established with an eye toward "privacy." A snapshot of the site from March 2021 shows copy reading: "When you use all your images are encrypted. We do not log IP addresses, device agents, or anything else." That's all sketchy enough. But chat logs linked to Corstine suggest even worse activities. According to cybersecurity reporter Brian Krebs, Corstine has history mixing with a disparate network of deviant hackers known as "The Com" that's linked to violent social manipulation and hacking campaigns like swatting, doxing, and fake bomb threats — as well as child sextortion. The Com quickly picked up news of Corstine's involvement in DOGE. "[Corstine] participated in sim swap hacks in 2018," wrote one user in a Com chatroom, referring to the practice of hijacking a victim's phone by transferring their SIM card data to a 3rd party device. "Put that on his wiki." That Corstine had any involvement with this group should have immediately raised flags with State Department, seriously factoring into his ability to obtain security clearance. While it's been reported that Musk's DOGE boys have received equivalent security clearance to federal employees who work with sensitive information, the White House has been silent on Coristine's exact status. Whether Corstine created any of the links on himself, or if child porn and hate groups moved through his website isn't yet known; he wouldn't be the first 16-year-old edgelord to make degeneracy a core pillar of their identity. But the revelation calls into question the efficacy of hiring an unstable and unexperienced teen to sift through government data. This is not to say edgy kids can't grow into well-adjusted adults — but that doesn't mean you have to put them in charge of budgeting for the most powerful government in history. More on DOGE boys: One of Elon's DOGE Boys Just Resigned After His Incredibly Racist Tweets Were Discovered
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Investigation targets online groups accused of child sex abuse, torture
International law enforcement agencies have arrested several members of an online community that groomed and abused children, officials said Thursday. U.S. Homeland Security, Europol and the French police were involved in the investigation. The operation targeted multiple online communities that operate as part of an online network called "The Com," where "extremists around the world collude to groom and abuse children," according to a news release from Europol. Two members of an online group known as "CVLT," pronounced 'cult,' were arrested in the United States on Jan. 30. The two men, who were not identified, participated in what authorities described as a "neo-Nazi child exploitation ring that groomed and then coerced minors into produce child sexual abuse material and images of self-harm." The investigations were supported by international authorities. Another member of the group has been in French custody since 2022, for child exploitation and related offenses. A fourth is serving a 50-year sentence in the United States for child sex abuse crimes committed in 2020 and 2021. Three of the four men are believed to have "acted as leaders and administrator" of the online community. Those responsibilities included hosting and operating online servers and controlling membership for the group. The group's leaders targeted and manipulated vulnerable minors, particularly those with a history of sexual abuse or mental health issues, authorities say. The victims were "encouraged to engage in increasingly dehumanising acts" and film the actions, the news release said. Those videos were then allegedly used to blackmail victims and attempt to pressure them into suicide. Some victims who left the group had the videos leaked. Many other extremist and abusive groups that make up "The Com" follow similar practices. These organizations operate in easily accessible online spaces, authorities say, including social media platforms, mobile apps and online gaming platforms. They allegedly have children carry out activities that are violent or harmful to themselves or others, then use video evidence of the actions as a tool for blackmail for further gruesome activities. "It's a vicious cycle - the predators in this network influence children or young people into conducting acts that increasingly shame, incriminate, or isolate them, this in turn makes them more vulnerable to further exploitation," Europol said in a statement. International cooperation has been key in identifying and arresting the leaders of such groups, authorities said. Europol hosted a three-day operational meeting about "The Com" in January 2025, which connected dozens of intelligence and police officers. Details on Chinese retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products set to take effect next week Concern DOGE could stop Social Security, Medicare payments Hubble Telescope captures cosmic collision from 50 million years ago
