Insider information on stock market trading is worth money in the bank. At least, that appears to be the thinking behind the hacking of major stock market news sites.
For about a year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been investigating hackers who infiltrated Dow Jones, according to a Bloomberg story. Last week, the company acknowledged it had been subject of hacking that aimed at contact and payment information from as many as 3,500 customers.
But the government’s investigation appears to be exposing a much more serious security breach. Evidence suggests the hackers were looking for pre-publication business news stories, possibly including exclusive scoops on upcoming mergers and acquisitions and other insider information that could move the market for particular stocks.
Already other investigations have turned up similar information breaches. This summer, federal investigators discovered Ukranian hackers had accessed more than 150,000 press releases prior to publication, including company earnings reports that often affect share prices.
That group of hackers reportedly took in more than $100 million over five years by using pilfered data to bet on companies like Panera Bread, Boeing, Oracle and others.
The Dow Jones hacking is believed to have occurred for nearly three years, beginning in 2012, but the company says there is no direct evidence that information was stolen.