Tech firms warn ‘Scattered Spider’ hacks are targeting aviation sector

Aircraft line up on the runway at Sydney International Airport on a windy day in Sydney on June 25, 2025. (AFP)
Aircraft line up on the runway at Sydney International Airport on a windy day in Sydney on June 25, 2025. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 28 June 2025
Follow

Tech firms warn ‘Scattered Spider’ hacks are targeting aviation sector

Aircraft line up on the runway at Sydney International Airport on a windy day in Sydney on June 25, 2025. (AFP)
  • Neither company has gone into detail about the intrusions or commented on any potential links between the incidents and Scattered Spider

WASHINGTON: Tech companies Google and Palo Alto Networks are sounding the alarm over the “Scattered Spider” hacking group’s interest in the aviation sector.

In a statement posted on LinkedIn on Friday, Sam Rubin, an executive at Palo Alto’s cybersecurity-focused Unit 42, said his company had “observed Muddled Libra (also known as Scattered Spider) targeting the aviation industry.”

In a similar statement, Charles Carmakal, an executive with Alphabet-owned Google’s cybersecurity-focused Mandiant unit, said his company was “aware of multiple incidents in the airline and transportation sector which resemble the operations of UNC3944 or Scattered Spider.”

Neither executive identified which specific companies had been targeted, but Alaska Air Group-owned Hawaiian Airlines and Canada’s WestJet have both recently reported being struck by unspecified cyber incidents.

Neither company has gone into detail about the intrusions or commented on any potential links between the incidents and Scattered Spider.

The loose-knit but aggressive hacking group, alleged to at least in part comprise youngsters operating in Western countries, has been blamed for some of the most disruptive hacks to hit the United States and Europe in recent memory.

In 2023, hackers tied to the group broke into gaming companies MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, partially paralyzing casinos and knocking slot machines out of commission.

Earlier this year, the group wreaked havoc at British retailers. More recent targets include the US insurance industry.

 


Brazil to join South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel, source says

Updated 16 sec ago
Follow

Brazil to join South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel, source says

Brazil to join South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel, source says
BRASILIA: Brazil will request to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
South Africa filed a case in 2023 asking the ICJ to declare that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. Other countries – such as
Spain, Turkiye, and Colombia– had already asked the court to intervene in the case.
The decision was reported earlier by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and confirmed by Reuters.

Man built and stashed homemade bombs throughout New York City, prosecutors say

Man built and stashed homemade bombs throughout New York City, prosecutors say
Updated 49 min 56 sec ago
Follow

Man built and stashed homemade bombs throughout New York City, prosecutors say

Man built and stashed homemade bombs throughout New York City, prosecutors say
  • Michael Gann, 55, built at least seven improvised explosive devices
  • No one was injured by any of the devices

NEW YORK: A New York man accused of plotting to set off homemade explosives he had stashed at sites across Manhattan has been indicted, federal prosecutors said.

Michael Gann, 55, built at least seven improvised explosive devices last month with chemicals he bought online in May and took the bombs to Manhattan, according to an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury.

Gann, of Long Island, stored some on the devices on the rooftops of adjoining residential buildings and threw another onto the subway tracks on the Williamsburg Bridge, prosecutors said.

No one was injured by any of the devices. Gann was arrested in early June near the buildings, and authorities said he he had one of the devices in his possession.

Gann put “countless lives at risk,” Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

Gann is charged with attempted destruction of property by means of explosives, transportation of explosive materials, and unlawful possession of destructive devices. He could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

A judge ordered Gann detained following a bail hearing. His lawyer, Martin Cohen, declined comment Wednesday.


Turkiye FM urges Russia, Ukraine to end ‘bloody war’

Turkiye FM urges Russia, Ukraine to end ‘bloody war’
Updated 50 min 26 sec ago
Follow

Turkiye FM urges Russia, Ukraine to end ‘bloody war’

Turkiye FM urges Russia, Ukraine to end ‘bloody war’
  • Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said if a ceasefire is agreed, Turkiye has ‘the necessary infrastructure in place for a monitoring mechanism’

ISTANBUL: The third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine opened on Wednesday evening in Istanbul, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urging both sides to end the “bloody war” as soon as possible.

“Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible ... The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way to peace,” Fidan said as he opened the negotiations.

Turkiye, which has good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbors, has provided drones for Ukraine and shied away from Western-led sanctions on Moscow.

Fidan thanked Russian and Ukrainian leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky for demonstrating “the will to hold these talks,” as well US President Donald Trump for his calls for an end to the war.

He said the first and second round of talks, which also took place in Istanbul, achieved “significant results.”

“We are pleased to see that the prisoner exchanges carried out to date have been appreciated by the international community in terms of their humanitarian outcomes,” he said.

“We also consider it an important development that the parties exchanged memoranda reflecting their perspectives on the ceasefire and peace during the second round of talks,” he added.

“Our hope for this third round of negotiations is that the parties will hold substantive and results-oriented consultations on the memorandums they have exchanged.”

Fidan also said if a ceasefire is agreed, Turkiye has “the necessary infrastructure in place for a monitoring mechanism.”

“The Istanbul talks provide us with an opportunity to show the world that diplomacy and dialogue are more effective than conflict and weapons in securing peace.”


UK condemns Israeli aid system as ‘inhumane and dangerous’ at UN debate on Gaza

UK condemns Israeli aid system as ‘inhumane and dangerous’ at UN debate on Gaza
Updated 23 July 2025
Follow

UK condemns Israeli aid system as ‘inhumane and dangerous’ at UN debate on Gaza

UK condemns Israeli aid system as ‘inhumane and dangerous’ at UN debate on Gaza
  • The UK ambassador to the UN described the Israeli aid system in Gaza as “inhumane, ineffective, dangerous, and fueling instability”
  • The ambassador also condemned Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s proposals to forcibly displace Palestinians to Rafah and criticized the expansion of settlements in the West Bank

NEW YORK: The UK sharply criticized Israel’s humanitarian conduct in Gaza during a high-level UN Security Council debate on the Middle East peace process on Wednesday, describing the Israeli aid system as “inhumane, ineffective, dangerous and fueling instability.”

Speaking at the council’s open debate, UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying that the suffering of Palestinian civilians and the continued holding of hostages by Hamas since Oct. 7 “must end now.”

She said: “The IDF is shooting at desperate Palestinian civilians on an almost daily basis. Hamas is exploiting this disorder.”

She called on Israel to stop such attacks, hold perpetrators accountable and work with the UN to implement a more effective aid delivery system that complies with international humanitarian law. Woodward reaffirmed the UK’s support for the UN’s humanitarian coordination office and condemned recent strikes on the World Health Organization in Deir Al-Balah.

The ambassador also condemned Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s proposals to forcibly displace Palestinians to Rafah and criticized the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, calling it a “flagrant breach of international law” and “an accelerating campaign to prevent a Palestinian state.”

While insisting Hamas must not govern Gaza or threaten Israel’s security in the future, Woodward warned that actions by the Israeli government were undermining the only viable alternative — the Palestinian Authority. She pointed to Israel’s withholding of $2.6 billion in tax revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority, which she said is crippling essential services and weakening Palestinian institutions.

“This is not conducive to Israel’s long-term security,” she added.

Woodward reiterated the UK’s commitment to a two-state solution and warned that London is prepared to take “further action” to stop what it sees as the erosion of prospects for peace.

She noted that a high-level conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia next week will be a key opportunity to advance international support for a peaceful resolution.


Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor’s death

Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor’s death
Updated 23 July 2025
Follow

Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor’s death

Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor’s death
  • Dr. Salvador Plasencia became the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to plead guilty
  • Plasencia, 43, was to have gone on trial in August until the doctor agreed last month to plead guilty

LOS ANGELES: A doctor pleaded guilty Wednesday to giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the “Friends” star’s overdose death.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia became the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to plead guilty. He stood next to his lawyer and admitted guilt to four counts to Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in federal court in Los Angeles.

Plasencia, 43, was to have gone on trial in August until the doctor agreed last month to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, according to the signed document filed in federal court in Los Angeles.

He spoke only to answer the judge’s questions. When asked if his lawyers had considered all the possibilities of pleas and sentencing in the case, Plasencia replied, “They’ve considered everything.”

He had previously pleaded not guilty, but in exchange for the guilty pleas prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying records.

Prosecutors outlined the charges in court before the plea, and said, as Plasencia’s lawyers have emphasized, that he did not sell Perry the dose that killed the actor.

They described, and Plasencia admitted, that Perry froze up and his blood pressure spiked when the doctor gave him one injection, but Plasencia still left more ketamine for Perry’s assistant to inject.

In court, Perry was referred to only as “victim MP.”

The charges can carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and there is no guarantee Plasencia will get less, but he’s likely to. He has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest in August, and will be allowed to remain free until his Dec. 3 sentencing.

Plasencia left the courthouse with his lawyers without speaking to reporters gathered outside.

The only remaining defendant who has not reached an agreement with the US Attorney’s Office is Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors allege is a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” and sold Perry the lethal dose. Her trial is scheduled to begin next month. She has pleaded not guilty.

According to prosecutors and co-defendants who reached their own deals, Plasencia illegally supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine starting about a month before his death on Oct. 28, 2023.

According to a co-defendant, Plasencia in a text message called the actor a “moron” who could be exploited for money.

Perry’s personal assistant, his friend, and another doctor all agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation as the government sought to make their case against larger targets, Plasencia and Sangha. None have been sentenced yet.

Perry was found dead by the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death.

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.

Plasencia admitted in his plea agreement that another patient connected him with Perry, and that starting about a month before Perry’s death, he illegally supplied the actor with 20 vials of ketamine totaling 100 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes.

He admitted to enlisting another doctor, Mark Chavez, to supply the drug for him, according to the court filings.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to Chavez’s plea agreement.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to,” prosecutors said.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.