Unnamed Hacker Convicted for Scattering Cyber Attacks Receives 10-Year Prison Sentence
Scattered Spider Hacker Noah Urban Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison
Noah Urban, a member of the notorious hacking gang Scattered Spider, was sentenced to ten years in prison this week. The group, which gained notoriety in 2023 for ransomware attacks against Las Vegas casinos Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, was responsible for stealing millions of dollars from victims.
Urban, who went by the aliases "Sosa," "Elijah," and "King Bob," was arrested in 2024 and charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to the prosecution, Urban and other members of Scattered Spider stole the identities of their victims and conducted phishing attacks to access cryptocurrency exchange accounts.
The impact of Scattered Spider's hacks was made real through victims' statements submitted to the court. The victims include a retired firefighter, people who lost access to their retirement funds, and a person who had money stolen for IVF fertility treatments. The exact amount of money stolen by Scattered Spider from their victims is between the range of $9.5 million and $25 million.
Urban pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year. He was ordered by the court to pay more than $13 million in restitution, but the court order did not specify the exact amount for the victims whose stories were mentioned in this paragraph.
Prosecutors recovered about $2.9 million worth of cryptocurrency from Urban's computer, seized during a raid on his home in March 2023. Besides Urban, a 17-year-old arrested by British police in July 2024 and a 19-year-old US citizen known online as "remi" were also arrested in December 2024. They are accused of hacking a US financial institution and two telecommunications companies.
According to Bloomberg, Urban's lawyer argued that Urban made "some very poor decisions as a teenager" and that hacking was "kind of like a game" for members of Scattered Spider. Urban's actions resulted in the loss of somewhere between $9.5 million and $25 million from his victims.
The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an advisory about the Scattered Spider group, warning organizations of their data theft and extortion tactics. Urban was involved in the targeting and victimization of 29 cryptocurrency victims and 13 companies. These attacks allowed them to access victims' cryptocurrency exchange accounts, locking them out and draining their wallets.
The sentencing of Noah Urban marks a significant step in the ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime and hold hackers accountable for their actions. As the world becomes increasingly reliant on digital technology, the importance of securing our online spaces cannot be overstated.
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