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Psychological pressure on casino employees helped hackers achieve their goal.
According to new data from Microsoft's threat analysis and incident response team, a hacker group consisting mainly of young people is behind a number of attacks on Las Vegas entertainment companies. The group (Octo Tempest, 0ktapus, Scattered Spider, UNC3944) used not only social engineering techniques, but also threats of violence to extort the credentials of its victims.
The main target of hackers is technical support specialists, to whom they apply social engineering methods to get the information necessary for hacking. However, in a number of cases, the group has resorted to more radical methods, including threatening violence against the victims relatives.
Example of threats to victims
Studies have shown that the majority of participants in this group are native English speakers under the age of 20. The activity of intruders has increased especially since 2022, when they began to actively engage in the interception of SIM cards (SIM Swapping, SIM swapping) and the seizure of accounts in order to steal cryptocurrencies.
The cybercrime group has attracted attention thanks to a number of successful attacks on companies such as Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts. The attacks led to huge financial losses: Caesars Palace Casino, according to unconfirmed reports, paid extortionists about $15 million, while MGM's losses exceeded $100 million.
However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to Las Vegas resorts, the group is credited with attacks on major corporations such as Okta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Rockstar and Samsung. A cybersecurity expert, who chose to remain anonymous, said the cybersecurity industry made a mistake by underestimating young and talented hackers.
Microsoft researchers warn of possible Com collaboration with other, more experienced criminal groups, which may lead to even more large-scale and complex attacks in the future.
According to new data from Microsoft's threat analysis and incident response team, a hacker group consisting mainly of young people is behind a number of attacks on Las Vegas entertainment companies. The group (Octo Tempest, 0ktapus, Scattered Spider, UNC3944) used not only social engineering techniques, but also threats of violence to extort the credentials of its victims.
The main target of hackers is technical support specialists, to whom they apply social engineering methods to get the information necessary for hacking. However, in a number of cases, the group has resorted to more radical methods, including threatening violence against the victims relatives.
Example of threats to victims
Studies have shown that the majority of participants in this group are native English speakers under the age of 20. The activity of intruders has increased especially since 2022, when they began to actively engage in the interception of SIM cards (SIM Swapping, SIM swapping) and the seizure of accounts in order to steal cryptocurrencies.
The cybercrime group has attracted attention thanks to a number of successful attacks on companies such as Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts. The attacks led to huge financial losses: Caesars Palace Casino, according to unconfirmed reports, paid extortionists about $15 million, while MGM's losses exceeded $100 million.
However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to Las Vegas resorts, the group is credited with attacks on major corporations such as Okta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Rockstar and Samsung. A cybersecurity expert, who chose to remain anonymous, said the cybersecurity industry made a mistake by underestimating young and talented hackers.
Microsoft researchers warn of possible Com collaboration with other, more experienced criminal groups, which may lead to even more large-scale and complex attacks in the future.
