随着暑期旅行高峰的到来，航空公司正面临来自名为Scattered Spider的青少年黑客组织的网络攻击威胁。联邦调查局（FBI）和网络安全公司发出警告，该组织已将目标扩大到航空领域，至少已有两家航空公司受到影响。Scattered Spider以其勒索手段而闻名，经常冒充员工或承包商来欺骗IT服务台，窃取敏感数据并部署勒索软件。专家指出，该组织的目标不仅限于航空公司，还包括其第三方IT供应商，这意味着整个航空生态系统都可能面临风险。

🚨Scattered Spider是一个由青少年和年轻人组成的黑客组织，FBI警告称其正在扩大对航空业的攻击范围。

✈️至少有两家航空公司，西捷航空（WestJet）和夏威夷航空（Hawaiian Airlines），已经受到该组织的网络攻击影响。夏威夷航空表示，6月23日发生的事件影响了其部分IT系统，但航班运营“安全且按计划进行”。

🛡️Scattered Spider以其勒索策略而闻名，他们经常冒充员工或承包商来欺骗IT服务台，窃取敏感数据并部署勒索软件。FBI表示，黑客可以针对航空公司及其第三方IT供应商。

💰该组织曾于2023年9月与针对拉斯维加斯赌场和酒店（包括MGM Resorts和Caesars Entertainment）的数百万美元黑客攻击有关，MGM最终支付了约1500万美元的赎金。

As summer holidays kick into gear, airlines are facing a new threat. A teen hacking group known as Scattered Spider is targeting the airline industry, the FBI and cybersecurity firms have warned.

Last Friday, the FBI issued an alert saying that the cybercriminal group is "expanding its targeting to include the airline sector." At least two airlines have already been affected by cyberattacks. Both WestJet and Hawaiian Airlines have felt the impact of cybersecurity attacks attributed to this group. Hawaiian Airlines said that a June 23 incident affected some of its IT systems, but flights operated "safely and as scheduled". On June 13, WestJet, a Canadian airline, released a statement reporting a cyberattack that they have continued to address, saying they made "significant progress" in safeguarding their systems.

Scattered Spider is a collective of hackers comprised of teenagers and young adults. Microsoft researchers once called Scattered Spider "one of the most dangerous financial criminal groups."

The group is known for its extortion tactics. The hackers often impersonate employees or contractors to "deceive IT help desks" and gain access to systems, says the FBI. "Once inside, Scattered Spider actors steal sensitive data for extortion and often deploy ransomware," continued the statement.

Google's cybersecurity unit, Mandiant and Palo Alto Networks' research division, Unit 42 both stated that they observed Scattered Spider increasingly targeting the transportation sector.

The FBI said actively working with aviation partners to address the uptick in cybersecurity threats. In the statement, they said the hackers could target both airlines and their third-party IT providers, which means "anyone in the airline ecosystem, including trusted vendors and contractors, could be at risk."

In September 2023, Scattered Spider gained notoriety when the group was linked to multimillion-dollar hacks on MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, two well-known Las Vegas casinos and hotels. MGM ultimately had to pay a ransom of around $15 million to resolve the issue.

The group has previously targeted UK retail giant Marks & Spencer, and was recently suspected to be behind a breach hitting US insurance company Aflac.