Authorities arrest four hackers linked to UK retail hacking spree

In Brief

U.K. authorities confirmed on Thursday they had arrested four individuals for allegedly carrying out a series of hacks earlier this year targeting the British retail sector, including Marks & Spencer, Harrods, and the Co-op.

The National Crime Agency said a woman aged 20, two men aged 19, and a youth aged 17, were arrested on Thursday at locations across the U.K. under suspicion of hacking, blackmail, money laundering, and participating in an organized crime group.

The suspects weren’t named, but were taken into custody in relation to the hacks, the NCA said.

Starting in April, hackers started breaking in and stealing customer data from the Co-op, and later Marks & Spencer. Both intrusions were attributed to Scattered Spider, a collective of hackers and techniques that use impersonation and deception tactics to trick call centers and company help desks into granting them access to their networks. 

The hackers allegedly used their access to allow a ransomware gang called DragonForce to deploy its file-encrypting malware on Marks & Spencer’s network. The Co-op reportedly avoided the ransomware by pulling down its own network before the hackers could activate the malware. Harrods, too, said it rebuffed much of a cyberattack.

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