UK warns of emerging threat from ‘sadistic’ online ‘Com networks’ of teenage boys

Online networks of teenage boys “dedicated to inflicting harm and committing a range of criminality” are among the most significant concerns for British law enforcement, officials announced this week.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is warning of a “new generation of young, English-speaking cyber criminals” who are “predominantly teenage boys that often share sadistic and misogynistic material, and have been seen to target those their own age or younger.”

In a strategic assessment, the agency said “the threat from cybercriminals based in the UK and other English-speaking countries, such as the USA, has increased relative to 2023,” which is being “driven by a loose association of online entities from a wider internet-based subculture nicknamed ‘The Com’.”

NCA Director General Graeme Biggar said these communities, referred to as “Com networks” by the agency, drive offenders to “collaborate or compete to cause harm across a broad spectrum of criminality — both on and offline — including cyber, fraud, extremism, serious violence, and child sexual abuse.”

According to the agency, known reports of Com network threats “increased six-fold” from 2022 to 2024. In some cases, girls as young as 11 “have been coerced into seriously harming or sexually abusing themselves, siblings or pets.”

Last month, Richard Ehiemere, 21, an East London member of a “Com” network linked to the blackmailing of young teenage girls, was convicted on charges of fraud and making indecent images of children. The NCA began investigating him when he was 17.

Biggar described the issue as “a hugely complex and deeply concerning phenomenon.”

“These groups are not lurking on the dark web, they exist in the same online world and platforms young people use on a daily basis. It is especially concerning to see the impact this is having on young girls who are often groomed into hurting themselves and in some cases, even encouraged to attempt suicide,” he added.

Experts and academics are still studying the phenomenon to try to understand what drives these offenders. According to the NCA, evidence suggests that gaining notoriety and status within these online groups — based on the harm they inflict and the depravity of the content they share — appears to be part of it.

Biggar said the agency is collaborating with tech companies, psychologists and “safeguarding agencies” to better understand the phenomenon and how to protect victims.

“Operating online clearly makes these offenders feel protected and out of reach but that is absolutely not the case. There have already been convictions, we and partners have made arrests in the UK and overseas, and further investigations are ongoing,” Biggar said.

“I’d encourage parents and carers to have regular conversations with their child about what they do online, and ensure they know they have your support should they need it.”