Alleged head of hacker group that robbed MGM and Caesars has been arrested

Spanish authorities have detained a young man suspected of being the mastermind behind the hacker collective Scattered Spider. He gained notoriety for targeting well-known casinos like MGM and Caesars, resulting in significant financial losses for the gambling establishments.

The suspect was arrested at Palma de Mallorca airport while trying to fly to Italy. It was later revealed that 22-year-old British citizen Tyler Buchanan was believed to be the leader of Scattered Spider, also known as "Octo Tempest" and UNC3944.
Hackers hacked the data of 45 companies and a large number of individuals in the United States.

The suspect is accused of accessing corporate accounts without authorisation, unlawfully taking confidential information, and being involved in the theft of tens of millions of dollars, including $27 million in Bitcoin.

The hacker group first appeared in early 2022 and began illegally withdrawing money from organisations using stolen data. Hackers have caused significant damage to affected companies, sometimes even using physical threats to achieve their demands.

Scattered Spider was behind high-profile attacks on Caesars Entertainment and MGM. According to police, the criminals demanded $15 million from Caesars to restore access to their systems.