A hacker group is targeting the aviation industry, warns Palo Alto executive

A hacker group known as "Scattered Spider," is targeting the aviation industry, according to Sam Rubin, SVP of Consulting and Threat Intelligence at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks.

In a statement published on LinkedIn, Sam Rubin said, "Unit 42 has observed Muddled Libra (also known as Scattered Spider) targeting the aviation industry. Organizations should be on high alert for sophisticated and targeted social engineering attacks and suspicious MFA reset requests."

However, Rubin has not specified the names of affected companies. 

Meanwhile, both Hawaiian Airlines, owned by Alaska Air Group, and Canada's WestJet have recently reported experiencing cyber incidents. Neither airline has released details on the nature of the breaches or whether they are linked to the suspected hacking group, according to a recent Reuters report.

Believed to be partly composed of young individuals based in Western countries, the group has been linked to high-profile intrusions across industries in both North America and Europe.

In 2023, affiliates of the group were reportedly responsible for cyberattacks on gaming giants MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, incidents that led to widespread outages and disabled casino operations. Earlier this year, the group was also believed to be behind cyber disruptions at several British retailers, according to a recent report by Reuters.