Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 14, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleGoogle alerts US retailers about cyber threats from hackers who previously targeted UK stores, urging enhanced security measures.
By Raphael Satter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google said hackers responsible for paralyzing disruptions of UK retailers are turning their attention to similar companies in the United States.
"US retailers should take note. These actors are aggressive, creative, and particularly effective at circumventing mature security programs," John Hultquist, an analyst at Google's cybersecurity arm, said in an email sent on Wednesday.
The culprit is a group connected with "Scattered Spider," a nickname for a loosely interconnected network of hackers of varying levels of sophistication, it added.
Scattered Spider is widely reported to have been behind the particularly disruptive hack at M&S, one of the best known names in British business, whose online operations have been frozen since April 25.
It has a history of focusing on a single sector at a time and is likely to target retail for a while longer, Hultquist said.
Hackers from the Scattered Spider ecosystem have been behind a slew of disruptive break-ins on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2023 hackers tied to the group made headlines for hacking casino operators MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment .
Law enforcement has struggled to get a handle on the Scattered Spider hacking groups, in part because of their amorphousness, the hackers' youth, and a lack of cooperation from cybercrime victims.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Franklin Paul and Richard Chang)
The article discusses Google's warning to US retailers about cyber threats from hackers who previously targeted UK stores.
The hackers, known as Scattered Spider, are targeting retailers in the US after previously attacking UK stores.
Scattered Spider is a loosely connected network of hackers known for targeting the retail sector and causing significant disruptions.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
