WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google

said hackers responsible for paralyzing disruptions of

UK retailers are turning their attention to similar companies in

the United States.

"US retailers should take note. These actors are aggressive,

creative, and particularly effective at circumventing mature

security programs," John Hultquist, an analyst at Google's

cybersecurity arm, said in an email sent on Wednesday.

The culprit is a group connected with "Scattered

Spider," a nickname for a loosely interconnected network of

hackers of varying levels of sophistication, it added.

Scattered Spider is widely reported to have been behind

the particularly

disruptive hack at M&S

, one of the best known names in British business, whose

online operations have been frozen since April 25.

It has a history of focusing on a single sector at a

time and is likely to target retail for a while longer,

Hultquist said.

Hackers from the Scattered Spider ecosystem have been

behind a slew of disruptive break-ins on both sides of the

Atlantic. In 2023 hackers tied to the group made headlines for

hacking casino operators MGM Resorts International ( MGM ) and

Caesars Entertainment ( CZR ).

Law enforcement has

struggled to get a handle

on the Scattered Spider hacking groups, in part because of

their amorphousness, the hackers' youth, and a lack of

cooperation from cybercrime victims.