Attention Economy


Tuesday, November 10, 2015

‘Pump and Dump’ – Are Hackers Becoming Savvy Investors?

Another day, another story of hacking at a major US financial firm. However, this time around the strategy of the hackers was a bit different –
“Personal information for 100 million people was accessed by cyber-thieves between 2012 and the summer of 2015. At a press conference on Tuesday, US federal prosecutor Preet Bharara called the scheme "securities fraud on cyber-steroids". Twelve institutions were victims of the hacking, including JPMorgan, and asset manager Fidelity. US prosecutors said they were expanding charges against two Israeli men, Gery Shalon and Ziv Orenstein, as well as a US citizen, Joshua Samuel Aaron. …Investigators said the hackers used the personal details to send out information to bosses' email addresses, promoting certain stocks that hackers had bought cheap. The price would rise, and the hackers will then sell off their now very valuable shares. It's a technique known as "pump and dump"”

Related:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-10/digital-don-accused-of-hacks-at-jpmorgan-dow-jones-over-8-years