Once upon a time, hackers were lone wolves chasing clout, leaking data for bragging rights, or defacing websites to prove a point. Fast-forward to 2025, and the game has changed. Hacking is now a multi-billion-dollar industry, powered by state-backed APTs, ransomware cartels, and cybercrime syndicates that operate with more structure than most startups.
Their motives? Profit, espionage, and destabilization…in that order.
These groups don’t just target governments or Fortune 500s. They hit everyone: from crypto exchanges to cloud providers to your favorite SaaS tool. Knowing their playbooks is step one to survival.
Top 5 Most Notorious Hacking Groups of All Time (and Their Greatest Hits)
1. Lazarus Group (North Korea’s Cash Cow)
The crown jewel of North Korea’s cyber army, Lazarus exists to bring money and chaos back home. Well-funded, patient, and aggressive, they’ve perfected the art of robbing the digital bank.
Notable Hacks:
Stole $11.5 million from Taiwan’s leading exchange.
The largest crypto heist in history, draining $1.5 billion in ETH from cold storage.
Operation SyncHole, South Korea (Apr 2025)
Compromised six South Korean organizations via third-party software exploits.
2. REvil (aka Sodinokibi)
The OG ransomware cartel. Think of them as the franchise model for extortion, leasing out their malware and collecting a cut from affiliates.
Notable Hacks:
Acer Ransomware Attack (Mar 2021)
Demanded a record-setting $50M ransom.
Quanta Computer / Apple Schematics Leak (Apr 2021)
Exfiltrated schematics for unreleased Apple products.
Weaponized a managed service platform, impacting 1,500+ organizations globally.
3. Fancy Bear (APT28)
Moscow’s favorite cyber spies. Political influence, sabotage, and long-term espionage are their trademarks.
Notable Hacks:
Microsoft Cloud Email Hacks (2024-2025)
Harvested credentials and tokens for persistent access to sensitive inboxes.
Operation RoundPress (Webmail Exploits) (2024)
Exploited XSS flaws in Roundcube, Zimbra, and others to breach Ukrainian government officials.
LameHug Malware Campaign (2025)
Deployed AI-powered espionage tools against Ukrainian defense networks.
4. Conti
Conti may have “disbanded” after internal leaks in 2022, but its affiliates remain active, running spinoffs and continuing its ransomware legacy.
Notable Hacks:
Costa Rica Government Attack (April-May 2022)
Forced a national emergency by crippling 30 state institutions.
Shutterfly Data Breach (Dec 2021)
Exfiltrated employee and corporate data before deploying ransomware.
Exagrid Supply Appliance Ransomware Attack (2023)
Targeted backup appliances, netting a $2.6M ransom.
5. Lapsus$
Chaotic, young, and unconventional. These hackers weaponize insider recruitment and social engineering to breach tech giants.
Notable Hacks:
Nvidia Data Breach (Feb-Mar 2022)
Exfiltrated 1TB of data, including GPU secrets and 71,000 employee credentials.
Microsoft Azure DevOps & Bing/Cortana Source Code Leak (Mar 2022)
Breached Azure DevOps and leaked 37GB of internal source code.
Samsung Galaxy Source Code Leak (Mar 2022)
Dumped 190GB of Galaxy source code and biometric algorithms.
Special Mention: Anonymous Hacking Group
The hacktivist OG. Anonymous might lack the funding and finesse of modern APTs, but it laid the blueprint for collective cyber operations.
Notable Hacks:
Attacked MasterCard and PayPal for blocking WikiLeaks.
Assisted protesters by disrupting oppressive government infrastructure.
Russian government Attacks (2022)
Targeted Kremlin-linked sites during the Ukraine war.
What These Groups Have in Common
They may differ in motive, but their toolkits rhyme:
- Phishing & Social Engineering: Humans remain the weakest link.
- Supply Chain Exploits: One compromised vendor = a dozen breached networks.
- Ransomware & Wipers: Quick monetization or maximum chaos.
- APT Tactics: Persistence and stealth for long-term gains.
Such threat vectors have been used in some of the most devastating cyber attacks of all time.
Budding Threat Actors to Watch in 2025
Several emerging threat actors have recently surfaced, rapidly gaining notoriety:
1. Predatory Sparrow
They are a pro-Israel hacker group, suspected to be state-linked, that has carried out highly destructive cyber operations targeting Iran’s critical infrastructure and financial systems.
Some of the notable hacks executed by them are:
The group infiltrated Bank Sepah’s systems, destroyed critical financial data, and disrupted ATM and online banking services, causing widespread civilian impact.
Recently, they hacked Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, stealing around $90–100 million in crypto and then destroying it by sending the assets to unusable addresses; an act of sabotage, not theft.
2. Scattered Spider (aka UNC3944, Octo Tempest, or 0ktapus)
It is a British-American cybercrime collective that has evolved from SIM‑swap scams into a high-impact ransomware and social engineering threat. Comprised largely of young hackers from the U.S. and U.K., the group frequently exploits help-desk support channels to bypass multi-factor authentication and infiltrate large organizations.
Some of the notable hacks executed by them are:
Scattered Spider struck household names like Marks & Spencer, Co‑op, and Harrods, disrupting online ordering, payment systems, and supply operations. The estimated economic impact ranged from £270M to £440M.
The FBI and cybersecurity firms confirmed Scattered Spider’s expansion into aviation, spoofing help‑desk calls to airlines like WestJet, Hawaiian Airlines, and Qantas, compromising third-party vendor platforms and impacting millions of traveler records.
3. Salt Typhoon (aka Chimera)
It is a Chinese state-backed hacking group known for its advanced cyber-espionage operations, particularly against telecom, ISP, and government networks. Their tactics often involve living-off-the-land techniques and rootkit-level persistence, making them one of the most difficult-to-detect APTs this year.
Some of the notable hacks executed by them are:
Salt Typhoon infiltrated one of Canada’s largest telecom providers, using Demodex rootkit to exfiltrate sensitive customer and operational data, impacting nationwide services.
The group compromised segments of Viasat’s satellite networks, aiming to intercept communications and disrupt critical connectivity across North America.
How to Not Be Their Next Headline
To mitigate risks posed by these hacking groups:
- Adopt Zero Trust: Trust nothing, verify everything.
- Harden Employees, Not Just Endpoints: Train staff to resist social engineering.
- Rehearse Incidents: A plan on paper won’t save you in a breach.
- Layer Defenses: Endpoints, networks, anomalies — no single point of failure.
- Threat Intelligence: Know your enemy before they know you.
Cybersecurity is no longer a technical footnote but a strategic imperative. Understanding the threats posed by notorious hacking groups and staying proactively secure is essential for survival in today's digital age.
At Resonance Security, we don’t just identify threats; we help you stay ahead of them. From 24/7 monitoring to proactive threat hunting, we ensure your organization isn’t tomorrow’s headline.
Book a free consultation today, and let’s make your defenses as adaptive as the attackers.
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