Google Alerts U.S. Insurers to Scattered Spider Cyber Attacks on IT Support Teams

Google has issued a security advisory warning that the hacking group known as “Scattered Spider” is expanding its operations from retail targets to major U.S. insurance companies. The company said the attackers are specifically focusing on insurance firms’ IT support desks in an effort to gain a foothold inside corporate networks. According to Google, Scattered Spider is defeating multi-factor authentication, manipulating help-desk personnel, and moving laterally across entire IT ecosystems once initial access is obtained. The technology firm urged insurers to strengthen identity-verification procedures for support staff and to adopt additional security controls to prevent unauthorized access.