Man Arrested in Spain Allegedly Linked to Scattered Spider, Reports Say
Summary
A 22-year-old British man identified by Brian Krebs as Tyler Buchanan was arrested in Spain and is alleged to be linked to Scattered Spider. The article also recounts an earlier arrest and reports that Buchanan had been doxed.
Key points
- A 22-year-old British man was arrested in Palma de Mallorca on June 14 in an operation reportedly involving the FBI and Spanish authorities.
- The article says Brian Krebs identified the arrested man as Tyler Buchanan, also known as “tylerb”; authorities had not yet provided further details on charges at publication.
- An official statement reportedly alleged the man was behind enterprise hacks that resulted in theft of corporate information. Other claims linking him to Scattered Spider and high-profile ransomware attacks were attributed to third-party reporting.
- The article reports that Noah Michael Urban was arrested in Florida in January and charged with stealing $800,000 from five victims; he was awaiting trial.
- DarkOwl says Buchanan had been doxed in multiple posts, exposing personal and family information. It also cites reporting that a rival’s attempt to access his cryptocurrency keys was accompanied by an assault on his mother.
- Scattered Spider is described as financially motivated and known for social engineering, including targeting call-center staff; the article notes uncertainty about the individuals involved in the group.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Arrests of individuals alleged to be associated with Scattered Spider.
- Impact
- Noah Michael Urban was charged with stealing $800,000 from five victims and is awaiting trial. A 22-year-old British man, later identified as Tyler Buchanan, was arrested in Spain and was reported to be involved in SIM swapping and Scattered Spider activity. He was alleged to be connected to attacks that stole corporate information, including the MGM ransomware attack; the article says further details of his charges were awaited.
People
Noah Michael UrbanIdentified as the first individual purported to be a Scattered Spider member to be arrested; charged with stealing $800,000 from five victims and awaiting trial.Tyler BuchananIdentified by Brian Krebs as the British man arrested in Spain; reported to use the alias “tylerb” on SIM-swapping channels and alleged to be associated with Scattered Spider.
Threat Actors
Scatter SwineName explicitly identified in the article as another name for Scattered Spider.Scattered SpiderGroup attributed to high-profile attacks and reported to use social engineering against call center staff; the article says it is also known as Starfraud, UNC3944, Scatter Swine, and Muddled Libra.StarfraudName explicitly identified in the article as another name for Scattered Spider.UNC3944Name explicitly identified in the article as another name for Scattered Spider.
Countries
ScotlandBrian Krebs later reported that the individual arrested was Tyler Buchanan from Dundee, Scotland who used the alias “tylerb” on sim swapping channels.SpainOn June 14th, the VX Underground reported via X (formerly Twitter) that a 22-year-old British man was arrested in Palma de Mallorca Spain.