Neil Henderson reports:
Two teenagers have appeared in court facing computer hacking charges in connection with last year’s cyberattack on Transport for London (TfL).
Thalha Jubair, 19, from east London, and Owen Flowers, 18, from Walsall in the West Midlands, were charged with conspiring to commit unauthorised acts under the Computer Misuse Act.
They appeared at a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, and spoke only to confirm their names. Judge Tony Baumgartner scheduled a further hearing for 21 November, with a trial date set for 8 June 2026.
The cyber attack caused three months of disruption to TfL last year, and affected live Tube information, online journey history, and payments on the Oyster app.
The teenagers were arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and City of London Police on 16 September, and were charged two days later.
The NCA said it believed the hack, which began on 31 August last year, was carried out by members of cyber-criminal group Scattered Spider.
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Jubair also faces an additional charge for refusing to provide the passwords to his devices. Flowers faces additional charges of conspiring with others to infiltrate and damage the networks of SSM Health Care Corporation and attempting to do the same to Sutter Health.
Both teens were remanded into custody until their next court date next month.
On September 18, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey charging Jubair with conspiracies to commit computer fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, in relation to at least 120 computer network intrusions and extortion involving 47 U.S. entities. The complaint alleges victims paid at least $115,000,000 in ransom payments.
No U.S. complaint has been unsealed, if there is one, against Flowers.