The FBI has issued a warning that the hacker group Scattered Spider is expanding its cyberattacks to target airlines.
The alert was released on Friday, with federal officials emphasizing the group’s growing focus on the airline industry.
Scattered Spider is known for its use of social engineering tactics, often impersonating employees or contractors to trick IT help desks.
These tactics frequently include methods to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA), such as persuading help desk personnel to add unauthorized MFA devices to compromised accounts.
The FBI stated the group targets large corporations and their third-party IT providers, putting the entire airline ecosystem—including vendors and contractors—at risk.
Once inside a system, Scattered Spider actors steal sensitive data to extort victims and often deploy ransomware.
“These techniques frequently involve methods to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA), such as convincing help desk services to add unauthorized MFA devices to compromised accounts. They target large corporations and their third-party IT providers, which means anyone in the airline ecosystem, including trusted vendors and contractors, could be at risk,” the FBI said in a statement on X.
“Once inside, Scattered Spider actors steal sensitive data for extortion and often deploy ransomware. The FBI is actively working with aviation and industry partners to address this activity and assist victims,” the agency added.
Federal agents are actively collaborating with aviation and industry partners to combat these cyber threats and assist affected victims, NBC-affiliate 9 News reported.
Scattered Spider, also known as Øktapus, operates in English and is linked to a Russia-based criminal operation called ALPHV or BlackCat.
This group was responsible for the 2023 cyberattack on MGM Resorts, which forced the casino giant to shut down its computer systems for 10 days.
Reports at the time indicated MGM paid $15 million of the $30 million ransomware demand made by the hackers.
The FBI’s recent warning follows suspicious activity detected by insurance company Aflac on its U.S. network.
Aflac revealed that impacted files may include claims information, health records, Social Security numbers, and other personal data related to customers, employees, and agents.
Cyberattacks on companies have been frequent in recent years, but breaches targeting retail businesses have raised particular public concern due to customer impact.
Victoria’s Secret was forced to shut down its U.S. shopping site for almost four days last month following a security breach.
The lingerie retailer also halted some in-store services and disclosed that its corporate systems were affected, which delayed its first-quarter earnings report.
