The U.S. rounded up five suspects and filed charges against 32 others after it was revealed that they made almost $100 million in illegal profits based on information hacked from several news agencies. In a press statement, the Securities and Exchange Commission said the group has been operating for at least five years, involving hackers and stock traders coming from Russia, Ukraine, Cyprus, Malta and the United States.
The SEC found out the scheme was organized by two individuals, Ivan Turchynov and Oleksandr Ieremenko. The duo hacked their way into the servers of at least three news wire services, including Marketwired, PR Newswire and Business Wire, which are the chosen press release distributors of the country's largest corporations, CNN learned. The hackers stole more than 150,000 press releases that detailed upcoming mergers, acquisitions and earnings announcements, according to the Verge. The information was then disseminated to traders around the world, who used it before they were published, to take undue advantage in buying and selling stocks.
The modus was simple: the hackers, who lived in Ukraine, were given "shopping lists" of press releases by traders, reported RTé. They then hack targets and direct their clients to the stolen information. A video tutorial was made for this purpose, detailing how the traders could access the press releases, according to RTÉ .
"This cyber hacking scheme is one of the most intricate and sophisticated trading rings that we have ever seen, spanning the globe and involving dozens of individuals and entities," said Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, in the press statement.
Authorities filed civil charges against 16 stock traders and 14 businesses, while nine other individuals, including Turchynov and Ieremenko, face criminal charges, reported CNN. The SEC seeks civil penalties and has successfully secured a court order to freeze the assets of those involved.
