The record
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- Two young British hackers, Owen Flowers (18) and Thalha Jubair (20), were each sentenced to five and a half years at Woolwich Crown Court for the 2024 cyberattack on Transport for London, which knocked out 148 systems, disrupted services like Dial-a-Ride and Oyster photocards, and cost TfL £29 million.
- They pleaded guilty under the most serious charge of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, reportedly the first successful prosecution of its kind, and the NCA calls it the UK's biggest cybercrime prosecution.
- Investigators say a successful shutdown of TfL's network could have cost the UK economy up to £56 billion, but TfL contained the attackers by pulling its own systems down.
- Both are described as leading members of Scattered Spider, and Jubair separately faces US charges over roughly 120 intrusions and more than $115 million in ransoms, which remain untested allegations.
What to watch next
- Whether Jubair will be extradited to the US to face charges carrying up to 95 years, which neither the DOJ nor UK releases addressed
- Whether the NCA's claim that the arrests halted Scattered Spider holds, given it concedes other criminals may keep using the brand
- Whether City of London Police's push for 'Cyber Crime Risk Orders' as a 'digital prison' gains legal backing
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