The two British Scattered Spider members collared for carrying out the 2024 cyberattack on Transport for London (TfL) will each spend five and a half years in prison after being sentenced on Thursday.Owen Flowers, 18, and Thalha Jubair, 20, were sentenced to five years and six months' imprisonment each, having pleaded guilty in June, in turn receiving a 15 percent reduction in their sentences.Sentencing the pair at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Justice Turner noted both cybercriminals' immaturity, but acknowledged the sophistication of the offending, the scale of the impact on TfL, the significant planning behind the attack, and that both knew the criminality of their actions.
Mr Justice Turner further noted the age gap between the pair, and that the one year and four months Jubair has on Flowers "marks a potentially significant distinction in maturity."
The judge also acknowledged both defendants' neurodiversity in passing the sentence, which he said was the most lenient, while still reflecting the seriousness of their offenses.Flowers and Jubair were described by authorities as members of Scattered Spider, the loosely connected group of English-speaking individual cybercriminals thought to be mostly young men aged 16-25.Scattered Spider has been one of the most prominent cybercrime groups of the past few years, claiming responsibility for major attacks such as those on MGM Resorts in 2023 and the attacks on British retail giants in 2025.The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the group presented the most significant cyber threat to the UK, and today's sentencing closes the book on the biggest prosecution of cyber offenders in UK history.NCA officials have continually refused to comment on whether Flowers or Jubair were linked in any way to other major attacks claimed by Scattered Spider.The sentencing marks only the second conviction under Section 3ZA of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) – reserved for the most serious offenses.Section 3ZA covers unauthorized acts involving computers that cause, or create a significant risk of, serious damage, where the offender intends to cause that damage or is reckless as to whether it occurs.Flowers and Jubair pleaded guilty on the basis that their actions were reckless.
