In the shadowy corners of the dark web, young hackers from the U.S., U.K., and Canada met and teamed up with Russian ransomware hackers, becoming powerful partners in crime.

In the last year, ransomware hackers have targeted hospitals, pharmaceuticals, tech companies, and even Las Vegas’ biggest hotels and casinos. Bryan Vorndran, the FBI’s top cyber official, called ransomware an “enormous problem,” and says no sector, company, or type of organization is off limits to hackers. There are estimates that global losses from ransom payments exceed $1 billion a year.

“Any way you look at the numbers, it’s a problem for the global economy, and for the U.S. economy, and for the security of the United States,” Vorndran said.

A loose-knit group of predominantly native-English speaking hackers, called Scattered Spider by the FBI, are behind some of the recent ransomware attacks, Vorndran said. The group is also known as Star Fraud, UNC3944, and Octo Tempest. Scattered Spider hackers are considered experts in social engineering.

“Part of their success is because they are fluent in Western culture. They know how our society works,” said Allison Nixon, chief research officer with the cybersecurity firm Unit 221B. “They know what to say to get someone to do something.”  Read On: