This week in digital trust » Episode 138

#138 Trust hackers – the MO of cybercrime groups like Scattered Spider

19 August 2025

This week we take a deeper look at recent high-profile cyber attacks, which have breached organisations like Qantas and Marks & Spencer.
For all the talk of technical sophistication, especially in the time of AI, hackers like Scattered Spider are relying less on fancy code and more on their ability to exploit gaps in our systems of trust.
We explore how the biggest vulnerabilities in our systems are sometimes found not in software flaws but in how we vouch for ourselves online, and the way we govern relationships between companies and their suppliers.

Links:
Article about Scattered Spider (Axios) https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-of-cybersecurity-fab0c0d0-5760-11f0-8c09-e72f7ef7d797?utm_source=chatgpt.comArticle about the psychological edge behind Qantas hack (AFR) https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/qantas-says-6-million-aussies-caught-up-in-cyberattack-20250702-p5mbup
Australian Government advisory on Scattered Spider https://www.cyber.gov.au/about-us/view-all-content/alerts-and-advisories/scattered-spider?utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=scatter-spider&utm_medium=social&utm_content=advisory

Darknet Diaries episode about profit driven hacking communities ⁠https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/112⁠

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