Major cyber breaches orchestrated by youth hackers

CyberScoop reports that significant cyberattacks during the past two years were conducted with the involvement of "the Com," an online community of teens and young adult hackers. Recent intrusions against MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment are potentially launched by members of Star Fraud, a subgroup of the Com, said researchers at SentinelOne's annual LABScon cyber threat intelligence conference. Researchers also noted that attributing both attacks to Scattered Spider is inaccurate and fails to recognize various factions within the Com, as indicated by someone claiming to be part of Scattered Spider admitting to being behind the MGM hack but not the Caesars attack. Young individuals part of the Com have also been collaborating with ransomware syndicates around the world in conducting high-profile intrusions. Such a threat should prompt lawmakers and the cybersecurity community to strengthen its crackdown on the Com's cybercrime ecosystem, according to researchers.