Two members of Scattered Spider are heading to prison after a UK court handed down sentences this week.
Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair pleaded guilty to hacking London's metropolitan transit system and were each sentenced to five years and six months. UK law enforcement says the arrests disrupted the operations of Scattered Spider, a group that has been linked to a string of high-profile intrusions in recent years. The two are among the younger members tied to the group.
The convictions matter because Scattered Spider has operated with unusual impunity for years, hitting major targets while members remained at large. Putting members behind bars - and publicly crediting it with disrupting the group - signals that Western law enforcement is closing the gap on a crew that once seemed untouchable.
Scattered Spider has previously been connected to attacks on casino operators and other large enterprises. Whether two convictions actually hollow out the group's capabilities, or just inconvenience it briefly, remains the real question.