Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

Two Scattered Spider Hackers Sentenced to Jail in UK

Thalha Jubair and Owen Flowers were prosecuted over a 2024 cyberattack targeting Transport for London (TfL).

Scattered Spider

Two members of the Scattered Spider cybercrime group have been sentenced to jail in the United Kingdom, the country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced on Thursday.

Thalha Jubair, 20, and Owen Flowers, 18, were charged over their role in a 2024 cyberattack targeting Transport for London (TfL), which caused significant disruptions and generated costs of £29 million ($39 million).

Jubair and Flowers were arrested in September 2025. They initially pleaded not guilty but changed their pleas to guilty when their trial started in June.

On Thursday, they were each sentenced to five years and six months in prison following what officials described as “the largest cybercrime prosecution ever brought before the UK courts”. 

Despite several arrests last year, hackers operating under the Scattered Spider name continued to take credit for cyberattacks through the first months of 2026, although no new attacks have been announced in recent months.

Following the sentencing of Jubair and Flowers, the NCA noted, “Although other cybercriminals may continue to use the damaged Scattered Spider brand, the NCA’s action against Jubair and Flowers effectively halted the group’s criminal activity. Independent assessment supports this, with Microsoft confirming that the arrests materially degraded the group’s ability to continue conducting cybercriminal operations.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

In the meantime, authorities continue prosecuting other suspected members of the group. An alleged member, 19-year-old Peter Stokes, a dual US-Estonian national, was recently extradited to the US to face charges. 

Tyler Buchanan, a British national believed to be part of the cybercrime gang, pleaded guilty in a US court in April. 

Related: Third US Security Expert Sentenced to Prison for Helping Ransomware Gang

Related: Romanian Hacker Sentenced to Prison in US for Selling Access to State Network

Related: Third DraftKings Hacker Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison

Written By

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is senior managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher before starting a career in journalism in 2011. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing for the latest cybersecurity threats, trends, and expert insights.

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join as speakers examine the various components of ASM strategy, the push to mandate continuous asset visibility and inventory tools, and the use of red-teaming, bug bounties and pen-tests in modern security programs.

Register

In this live webinar, learn how to define your minimum viable business, identify the systems it depends on, measure actual recovery time against business requirements, and present the gaps to the board as measurable risk.

Register

People on the Move

Social engineering protection company Doppel has promoted Alyssa Smrekar to Chief Marketing Officer.

Naveen Bhateja has been appointed Chief People Officer at HackerOne.

The Department of War has appointed Sonu Shankar as Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.