Crypto.com Confirmed a Hacker Attack in 2023
Date: 2025-09-23 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: BUSINESS
Bloomberg published an article about the activities of Noah Urban, a member of the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider. The article mentioned that he was one of the organizers of the attack on the Crypto.com exchange, which had not previously been publicly reported. Representatives of the platform confirmed the hack, emphasizing that the issue affected a limited number of users and did not affect the security of assets.
According to Bloomberg, Urban developed an early interest in social engineering. At the age of 15, he learned about SIM card swapping through friends playing Minecraft. For each successful call that led to the theft of cryptocurrency, the teenager was paid $50.
In August 2022, he and his accomplices carried out an attack on Twilio Inc., which resulted in the hackers obtaining customer information from over 200 organizations. Under the pseudonym 0ktapus, the group also attacked Gemini Trust Co. in December of that year, stealing the personal data of 5.7 million users.
In an interview, Urban himself explained his motives as a desire to achieve "financial freedom" so he could spend more time with friends and music. He soon teamed up with Scattered Spider and, together with another hacker known as Jack, managed to access the account of a Crypto.com employee. According to sources, this occurred between January and March 2023. They used United Parcel Service Inc. to collect the information.
The exchange confirmed to Bloomberg that the incident had indeed occurred, but assured that the hackers had not accessed any client funds.
In addition to the attack on Crypto.com, Urban and his associates were involved in other high-profile incidents. For example, in January 2023, they hacked Riot Games Inc.'s databases and demanded $10 million for the data. The company refused to pay.
In March 2023, the FBI raided Urban's home, seizing cryptocurrency, cash, luxury goods, and electronic devices. Despite this, he continued his illegal activities until his arrest in January 2024.
Ultimately, in August 2025, a court found him guilty of hacking 13 companies, fraud, and theft of cryptocurrency. Urban received a 10-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay $13.4 million in restitution. His confiscated assets were valued at $4.8 million.
After the verdict, he expressed regret but did not express remorse, noting that he was happy with his life.
