
A group of U.S. traders enlisted Ukrainian hackers to steal inside information that they could then use to make millions in trades, according to
CNN Money. The nine individuals charged in federal indictments are said to have made $30 million using corporate press releases pilfered before public release, giving them an edge against other traders. Between 2010 and 2013, the group is said to have targeted Marketwired, PRNewswire and Business Wire, all three of which are used to announce things like earnings reports, mergers and acquisitions and other market moving information. The press releases were used to make about 1,000 trades based on inside information on over 100 companies, said
Bloomberg. For example, in 2012 Caterpillar planned to announce that its profits had risen 36 percent compared to the previous year, and sent a press release to PRNewsire. The release, said Bloomberg, was in their servers for less than a day before the group stole the file and proceeded to buy $8.3 million in Caterpillar stock and options before the official public announcement. Bloomberg said the incident highlights a new front in corporate crime, and has exposed new vulnerabilities in a financial system that is almost entirely online.