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Hackers Get 5½ Years for £29 M TfL Breach

7/16/2026

Summary

Judge Turner Sentences

Judge Mark Turner sentenced Thalha Jubair and Owen Flowers to five-and-a-half years for the TfL hack.
The pair accessed TfL systems from August 31 to September 3 2024, causing about £29 million in recovery costs and six months of engineer work to restore service.
They worked from east London and central England and were linked to the “Scattered Spider” community tied to the Marks and Spencer breach, Jubair having a 2023 conviction for hacking Nvidia with Lapsus$.

Summary

Jubair Convicted

A livestream of the Transport for London (TfL) breach recorded by Thalha Jubair and stored on Owen Flowers’s laptop served as key evidence at trial.
Hacker Thalha Jubair was also convicted of stalking two young women, including a swatting incident.
Inmate Owen Flowers used a prison-allowed device to search for Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) domains.
Prosecutors said “Scattered Spider” is a pattern of behaviour, noting Jubair’s prior Lapsus$ affiliation.

Summary

NCA Arrests

The National Crime Agency led the investigation that produced the September 2025 arrests of Jubair and Flowers.
Flowers admitted hacking the U.S.-based health organisations Sutter Health and SSM Health Care Corporation.
Judge Mark Turner said the pair acted out of ‘selfish bravado’ during sentencing.
TfL’s digital services remained offline for three months after the breach, prompting prosecutors to warn that the duo could have shut down the entire system.

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Judge Turner Sentences

Judge Mark Turner sentenced Thalha Jubair and Owen Flowers to five-and-a-half years for the TfL hack.
The pair accessed TfL systems from August 31 to September 3 2024, causing about £29 million in recovery costs and six months of engineer work to restore service.
They worked from east London and central England and were linked to the “Scattered Spider” community tied to the Marks and Spencer breach, Jubair having a 2023 conviction for hacking Nvidia with Lapsus$.

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