Disarrayed Arachnid: Insights, Perspectives, and Suggestions
A cybercrime group known as Scattered Spider has been causing concern for large enterprises across various sectors, including telecommunications, outsourcing firms, cloud/tech companies, retail, finance, and the airline sector. The group, also known as UNC3944, Scatter Swine, Muddled Libra, and others, has been active since at least May 2022 and has been responsible for high-profile breaches of UK retailers and airlines in the past few months.
Scattered Spider's operations demonstrate a preference for commercial remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools and remote desktop software, repurposing them as backdoors (ATT&CK T1219 - Remote Access Software). The group has been observed using legitimate remote administration tools like TeamViewer, ConnectWise Control, Splashtop, AnyDesk, Ngrok tunnels, FleetDeck, and Teleport for persistence within network or cloud environments. In a particularly malicious use of Teleport, an infrastructure access platform, Scattered Spider has established a persistent remote command-and-control (C2) channel, co-opting it for malicious purposes.
One of Scattered Spider's tactics involves impersonating company IT staff or help desk personnel in calls or texts to trick employees into revealing credentials or performing unsafe actions. This help desk scam, which has been seen in action against several UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods in April and May 2025, is a significant part of the group's strategy.
Scattered Spider's end goals are typically data theft and extortion, with the group being associated with ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware deployments and more recently with the DragonForce ransomware (ATT&CK T1489 - Data Encrypted for Impact). The group has also been linked to exploitation of CVE-2021-35464 (ForgeRock AM) to achieve remote code execution in a victim's AWS-hosted identity service (ATT&CK T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application).
In response to these threats, it is recommended for practitioners to become more familiar with Scattered Spider's tactics and increase their vigilance by implementing defence best practices. This includes strengthening password security, enhancing employee training on social engineering attacks, and maintaining up-to-date software and security tools.
In July 2025, four suspects were arrested in England in connection with Scattered Spider's activities. However, the group's operations continue to evolve, broadening its targets and refining its tactics. Practitioners are advised to stay vigilant and adapt their defences accordingly.
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