Scattered Spider moves beyond the UK, places crosshairs on US companies

• US retailers should "take note", Google is warning
• Scattered Spider was seen targeting multiple US retailers this year
• The group has been on a "long hiatus"

Scattered Spider, a known ransomware collective, is widening its target scope, no longer focusing exclusively on UK firms. This is according to Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (TIG), who told BleepingComputer that US retailers “should take note.”

"The US retail sector is currently being targeted in ransomware and extortion operations that we suspect are linked to UNC3944, also known as Scattered Spider," John Hultquist, Chief Analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, told the publication. Hultquist added that Scattered Spider has returned after a “long hiatus” to target multiple firms.

The group is not as tightly-knit as organizations such as LockBit or Cl0p. It is relatively loose, and operates within a larger hacking community known as “the Com”. Its members engage ...