International Hacking Ring Made Millions on Stock Trades
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 08/14/2015 09:13 AM
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An international group made millions hacking press release sites.
U.S. authorities have charged 32 members of an international ring of hackers and financial traders who stole press releases prior to there being published so that they could make millions from trades based on the information.
Mary Jo White, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said: "This international scheme is unprecedented in terms of the scope of the hacking, the number of traders, the number of securities traded and profits generated."
Ivan Turchynov and Oleksandr Ieremenko created the scheme and hacked into Marketwired, Newswire Association, and Business Wire. What they stole was more than 150,000 press releases detailing upcoming mergers, acquisitions, and earnings announcements. The information was they passed on to traders around the world with Turchynov and Ieremenko taking a percentage of the profits.
In one case, the traders were given information of a companies falling revenue just 36 minutes before it was officially released. The traders took advantage of the info and started selling the stock short. When the news was released, the stock fell and the traders made $511,000.
Nine of the 32 individuals charged by the SEC have also been charged by the Department of Justice. Five of the nine defendants named by the DOJ have already been arrested — four in Europe, one in the US — with international arrest warrants issued for the remaining four.
Source: THe Verge
U.S. authorities have charged 32 members of an international ring of hackers and financial traders who stole press releases prior to there being published so that they could make millions from trades based on the information.Mary Jo White, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said: "This international scheme is unprecedented in terms of the scope of the hacking, the number of traders, the number of securities traded and profits generated."
Ivan Turchynov and Oleksandr Ieremenko created the scheme and hacked into Marketwired, Newswire Association, and Business Wire. What they stole was more than 150,000 press releases detailing upcoming mergers, acquisitions, and earnings announcements. The information was they passed on to traders around the world with Turchynov and Ieremenko taking a percentage of the profits.
In one case, the traders were given information of a companies falling revenue just 36 minutes before it was officially released. The traders took advantage of the info and started selling the stock short. When the news was released, the stock fell and the traders made $511,000.
Nine of the 32 individuals charged by the SEC have also been charged by the Department of Justice. Five of the nine defendants named by the DOJ have already been arrested — four in Europe, one in the US — with international arrest warrants issued for the remaining four.
Source: THe Verge
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