• Ransomware attacks are not new, but this group was extraordinarily skilled at social engineering and bypassing multi-factor authentication, said Wendi Whitmore, senior vice president for the security firm Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 threat intelligence team, which has responded to several intrusions tied to the group.
• “They are much more sophisticated than many cybercriminal actors. They appear to be disciplined and organized in their attacks,” she said. “And that’s something we typically see more frequently with nation-state actors, versus cyber criminals.”
• Known in the security industry variously as Scattered Spider, Muddled Libra, and UNC3944, these hackers were thrust into the limelight earlier this month for breaching the systems of two of the world’s largest gambling companies – MGM Resorts (MGM.N) and Caesars Entertainment Ltd (CZR.O).
• Behind the scenes, it has hit many more companies, according to analysts tracking the intrusions – and cybersecurity specialists expect the attacks to continue.

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