12 Aug 9 Hackers Charged in PR Related $100M Insider Trading Scheme
If you’ve ever wondered what a press release is worth; you now have you answer – $100 million dollars. Nine hackers and traders were arrested Tuesday in a five year public relations-related insider trading scheme that spanned from New York to the Ukraine, involved at least 32 people and netted millions in ill-gotten funds and property.
According to the NY Times, the hackers broke into the servers of companies like PR Newswire and Business Wire. Public Relations professionals use wire-services like these to distribute company information to news organizations around the world.
The hackers stole copies of press releases before they were distributed to the public and then sent the releases to shady traders who bought and sold stocks based on the advantageous information listed. The brazen international ring stole more than 150,000 releases over five years. Federal prosecutors did not fault the newswire companies in the case and reported they were all cooperating with authorities.
Moving forward, I bet there will be a lot less second-guessing of the value of well written press releases.
– à bientôt
Charell Star | A Girl In A Dress
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