UK cops arrest teen suspect in MGM cyberattack probe

Cops in the UK have arrested a suspected member of the notorious Scattered Spider crime gang, which is accused of crippling MGM Resorts in Las Vegas with ransomware last summer.

West Midlands police - along with officials from Britain's National Crime Agency and the FBI - cuffed the 17-year-old, of Walsall, England, on Thursday. The suspect, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody on suspicion of blackmail and breaking the UK's Computer Misuse Act. He's now out on bail.

The swoop – which comes about a month after Spanish police arrested the suspected leader of Scattered Spider – is part of a larger international probe into "a large-scale cyber hacking community which has targeted a number of major companies which includes MGM Resorts," British police said on Friday afternoon.

The ransomware infection at MGM, which shut down its IT systems and casinos, cost the US entertainment giant upwards of $100 million (£77 million) to clean up, it reports.

Gangs like the Scattered Spider crew "successfully targeted multiple victims around the world taking from them significant amounts of money," said West Midlands Detective Inspector Hinesh Mehta.

Before breaking into the casino's IT network, Scattered Spider is believed to have hit some 100 organizations in a cybercrime spree, according to Google-owned security specialists Mandiant.

Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of FBI's Cyber Division, said in a canned statement: "The FBI, in coordination with its partners, will continue to relentlessly pursue malicious actors who target American companies, no matter where they may be located or how sophisticated their techniques are."

MGM, which did not pay the ransom after its systems were knocked offline in last year's infection, chimed in with: "We’re proud to have assisted law enforcement in locating and arresting one of the alleged criminals responsible for the cyber attack against MGM Resorts and many others.

"We are forever grateful to the FBI for their support and work with international law enforcement to bring these criminals to justice." ®