London Teenager Orchestrated ‘Help Desk’ Extoming Scheme against 47 American companies that brought in $ 115
A London teenager is faced with a maximum of 95 years in prison for having pretended to have called the company to help offices and convince employees to reset passwords in a massive campaign to steal data and keep them for ransom. All in all, the program would have extorted 47 nameless American entities and would have reached at least 120 computer networks, including the American federal court system. Victims’ payments totaled $ 115 million, prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice said.
A complaint not sealed in New Jersey this week charged Thalha Jubair, 19, with computer and thread fraud, and three counts of conspiracy. The authorities claim that Jubair would have been part of the malicious hacking group known as the “Spider dispersion”, from May 2022 to September 2025. Jubair would have used alias, notably “Austin”, “Brad” and “Earthtostar” in his role with the group, which could have started when he was young than 15 or 16 years old. Manufacturers compress 47 companies not appointed in the United States in the United States, including manufacturers, manufacturers, accounts 47, American companies in the United States, including manufacturers, manufacturers, accounts 47, US companies in the United States, including manufacturers, manufacturers, 47 accounts, American companies in the United States, Airres, manufacturers, accounts 47. financial services companies and dozens of others. The American federal court system would also have been targeted in the regime, the complaint says.
The operation was multifaceted, according to the police. Jubair and other anonymous conspirators would have contacted the company HELP Disks and convinced representatives to reset the passwords of other users several times in addition to alternating password crack software. Once successfully inside corporate networks, alleged hackers have been able to encrypt or steal data and threaten to delete or publish them unless the managers agree to pay a ransom. Prosecutors claim that parts of the payments of victim companies have been traced to a server which allegedly controlled by Jubair. Financial service companies would each have paid $ 25 million and $ 36.2 million in Bitcoin in 2023 – the highest payments listed in the complaint.
On January 8, 2025, Jubair would have contacted the assistance service of the American network of the course network and prompted a representative to reset the password of another person, then used it to take up two other accounts, including one belonging to a federal magistrate judge. Once Jubair and others have had access to the judge’s emails, they searched the reception box the terms “assignment”, “spanded spider” and the name of another alleged hacker confronted with accusations. A second judge who had presided over a case involving an alleged conspirator in the dispersed spider program was also targeted, the complaint said. Jubair and others have stolen 18 mega -data of data, including thousands of names of court employees, employment titles, workplaces and user names and mobile phone numbers.
Jubair could not be joined to comment.
“Jubair would have participated in a radical standard of cyber standard produced by a group known as the Spander Spider, which has committed at least 120 attacks worldwide and led to more than $ 115 million in ransom payments of the victims,” ​​said interim prosecutor Matthew R. Galeotti of the Ministry of Justice. “These malicious attacks have caused a widespread disruption for companies and American organizations, including critical infrastructure and the system of federal courts, highlighting the significant and growing threat posed by cheeky cybercriminals.”
The National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom and City of London police arrested Jubair at his home in eastern London this week, according to the NCA. A second teenager, Owen Flowers, 18, from West Midlands in the United Kingdom, was also arrested at home, the NCA announced. The two teenagers were charged separately for an August 2024 attack on Transport for London, a government agency that oversees trains, buses, taxis and the London Underground.
According to the NCA, Jubair and Flowers appeared before the Westminster Court of First Instance this week, where Flowers was accused separately from conspiracy to harm SSM Health Care Care and Sutter Health, who are American companies. Jubair was billed for not having disclosed pins or passwords for his seized devices. The two were placed in pre-trial detention in the United Kingdom. SSM and Sutter Health did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
“The arrest of Thalha Jubair underlines an undeniable truth: regardless of what extent these cybercriminal unions are elusive or destructive, we will continue to pursue those who allegedly extorted from our businesses and to ensure that they are held responsible,” said the special agent of the FBI Stefanie Roddy in a press release. “(C) Haces in the United States and the United Kingdom reflect extraordinary coordination with our foreign and industrial partners and mark a decisive victory against the cybercriminal gangs who thought they could paralyze the American industries, inflict hundreds of millions of losses and hide behind a screen without consequence.
https://fortune.com/img-assets/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/GettyImages-2232068526-e1758316728824.jpg?resize=1200,600
About The Author
