Two teenagers have appeared in court charged with hacking London’s transport authority in a cyber-attack last year.
Thalha Jubair, 19, from east London, and Owen Flowers, 18, from Walsall, West Midlands, were arrested on 16 September at their home addresses in a joint operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and City of London police.
The men appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday after being charged with conspiring to commit unauthorised acts against Transport for London (TfL) under the Computer Misuse Act.
Flowers has also been charged with conspiring with others to infiltrate and damage the IT systems of a US healthcare company, SSM Health Care Corporation, and attempting similar acts at Sutter Health, another US company.
Jubair has also been charged under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act with failing to disclose the pin number or passwords of electronic devices seized from him.
Flowers, wearing a grey hoodie with the slogan “off the grid”, and Jubair, in a black hoodie, spoke to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.
TfL operates London’s tube, bus and overground rail networks. Prosecutors said the alleged cyber-attack resulted in a £39m loss for TfL as well as a “loss of livelihood” for people dependent on TfL licences. The operation of major TfL transport services was not affected.
The NCA said in a statement that it believed the hack was carried out by members of an online hacking community known as Scattered Spider.
Paul Foster, the head of the NCA’s national cyber crime unit, said: “Today’s charges are a key step in what has been a lengthy and complex investigation. This attack caused significant disruption and millions in losses to TfL, part of the UK’s critical national infrastructure.
“Earlier this year, the NCA warned of an increase in the threat from cybercriminals based in the UK and other English-speaking countries, of which Scattered Spider is a clear example. The NCA, UK policing and our international partners, including the FBI, are collectively committed to identifying offenders within these networks and ensuring they face justice.”
