MGM hack-linked attacker arrested in Spain

A 22-year-old UK national has been arrested in Spain, with researchers believing the hacker was intimately involved in the MGM Resorts International cyberattack.

The arrest was made by the Spanish police as the suspect was boarding a flight from Palme de Mallorca to Italy, Spanish media outlet Murcia Today reported. The arrest warrant was issued by the FBI‘s Los Angeles office.

The man is accused of hacking corporate accounts, which enabled attackers to illegally obtain millions of dollars. Reportedly, the suspect controlled $27 million worth of Bitcoin at some point.

Malware researchers at Vx-underground claim that the suspect’s trade is SIM-swapping, a malicious practice that allows attackers to intercept one-time passwords, a crucial component of multi-factor authentication.

Previously on Dragon Ball Z, the Spanish media reported a 'hacker' was arrested via the Spanish Police working in conjunction with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The individual arrested as a 22-year-old male from the United Kingdom. He was not immediately…

undefined vx-underground (@vxunderground) June 15, 2024

Going by the moniker “Tyler,” the 22-year-old from the UK is supposedly a key member in the infamous Scattered Spider, which made headlines last year after Two Las Vegas strip behemoths, MGM and Caesars, fell victim to a cyberattacks.

The group has also been involved in other major hacking campaigns which involved attacking LastPass, DoorDash, and other well-known organizations.

Meanwhile, according to cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs, Spanish police arrested Tyler Buchanan, a 22-year-old from Dundee, Scotland.

Scattered Spider is a financially motivated attacker group which notably employs social engineering, SMS phishing, SIM swapping, MFA fatigue and similar attacks vectors to target victims.