Scattered Spider Launches High-Stakes Cyber Wave 

Scattered Spider, a teen‑led hacking collective based in the U.S. and UK, carried out a devastating “Category 2 systemic event” cyberattack in April 2025, targeting major UK retailers Marks & Spencer and Co‑op. The breaches—linked by the Cyber Monitoring Centre due to the same threat actor, timing, and tactics—cost up to £270–440 million ($363–592 million)  . Their strategy relies on sophisticated social engineering: impersonating IT help desks, MFA bombing, SIM swapping to infiltrate networks. Google’s Threat Intelligence Group warns U.S. insurance companies are next in the group’s crosshairs, noting a rise in similar intrusion attempts targeting helpdesk and call centre staff . Experts advise firms to harden MFA, verify all IT requests out-of-band, deploy conditional access, and restrict privileged account use. As Scattered Spider pivots sectors, from retailers to insurers, organisations must stay alert and proactive.