Two teenagers convicted for their roles in a significant cyber-attack on Transport for London (TfL) had come to the attention of law enforcement prior to the incident, according to reports. The cyber-criminal collective to which they belonged, known as Scattered Spider, has been linked to numerous other attacks on retailers.
One of the convicted individuals, Owen Flowers, first encountered police shortly after his 16th birthday in October 2023. At that time, he was found to be engaged in low-level cyber-crime and received a visit from West Midlands' Regional Cyber Crime Unit prevent officers. During this interaction, Flowers reportedly did not cooperate with the officers and was issued a cease and desist order aimed at discouraging further illicit activity. Police considered him unsuitable for the national Cyber Choices program, which aims to divert young people from cyber-crime, due to his reluctance to engage and ongoing investigation into an offense.
Despite this prior contact, Flowers, who was living with his grandmother, proceeded to commit a series of increasingly serious cyber-offences with Scattered Spider in the months that followed, culminating in the attack on TfL. The attack resulted in substantial costs for the transport organization. IMAGE1: Court sketch of two men with long hair and glasses. One has a white tshirt on and the other is wearing a dark jacket "Court sketch of two men with long hair and glasses."
Paul Foster, deputy director of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) National Cyber Crime Unit, stated that such cases underscore the difficulties posed by a small number of highly capable offenders. He emphasized the need for enhanced legal powers, such as the proposed Cyber Crime Risk Orders (CCROs). These orders, part of the UK government's planned reforms to the Computer Misuse Act, are intended to grant police and courts the ability to impose restrictions on individuals identified as high-risk before they commit further serious breaches. Foster indicated that CCROs would "enable earlier law enforcement interventions against high-risk cyber-crime offenders."