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   After hitting top retail stores, experts warn this infamous criminal gang is   
   now going after US insurance giants   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:28:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Google is warning Scattered Spider is shifting attention to US-based    
   insurance firms.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The notorious Scattered Spider cybercrime gang is apparently stepping away   
   from attacking high-end retailers and has begun targeting insurance   
   organizations in the US, experts have claimed.    
      
   Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) cybersecurity researchers claim to   
   have seen multiple attacks, and are now urging organizations to be on the   
   lookout for potential threats.    
      
   "Google Threat Intelligence Group is now aware of multiple intrusions in the   
   US which bear all the hallmarks of Scattered Spider activity. We are now   
   seeing incidents in the insurance industry," chief GTIG analyst John    
   Hultquist said in an email shared with TechRadar Pro .   
      
   DragonForce    
      
   Scattered Spider is a loosely knit cybercriminal organization operating    
   within a larger hacking community known as the Com, known for targeting one   
   industry at the time.    
      
   It recently targeted high-end retailers, mostly in the UK, including Harrods,   
   M&S and the Co-op , and has also engaged with US companies, going for social   
   engineering, SIM-swapping, and ransomware .    
      
   "Given this actor's history of focusing on a sector at a time, the insurance   
   industry should be on high alert, especially for social engineering schemes,   
   which target their help desks and call centers," Hultquist stressed.    
      
   Although Google did not discuss who the victims are, The Register says two   
   US-based companies recently reported suffering a cyberattack: Erie Insurance,   
   and Philadelphia Insurance Company. Neither confirmed the incidents were the   
   work of Scattered Spider, but the news aligned suspiciously well.    
      
   The publication also says the crooks usually start their attacks with fake   
   helpdesk calls, after which they trick the victims into granting access to   
   their devices, which is later used to deploy the DragonForce ransomware   
   encryptor.    
      
   There are multiple ways to defend against ransomware attacks, but the best    
   one is to raise employee awareness about phishing and social engineering,   
   since most attacks abuse people, rather than systems.    
      
    Via The Register   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/after-hitting-major-shops-experts-warn-   
   this-criminal-gang-is-now-going-after-us-insurance-giants   
      
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