SEC Issues Charges in ‘Edgar’ Database Hack

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crime | hacking | security

One defendant is still facing charges issued in 2015 for a $30 million hacking and securities fraud scheme.

UPDATED 2:20 P.M. E.T. — A Ukrainian hacker was charged by US authorities, today, for offenses related to a hacking and illegal trading scheme; he still faces similar charges brought against him four years ago.

Oleksandr Ieremenko, 26, and Artem Radchenko, 27, both of Kiev, Ukraine, were charged today for their roles in a 2016 attack on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC discovered and revealed the attack in September 2017.

Attackers invaded the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) corporate filing database used by publicly traded companies and money managers. They were thus able to access these businesses’ non-public earnings information. Financial traders, recruited by Rachenko, traded illegally on this privileged inside information, according to the US Department of Justice.

Ieremenko is still at-large and facing charges brought against him in 2015 related to a $30 million securities fraud and hacking scheme. In that case, the attackers compromised newswire services—including PR Newswire, Marketwired, and Business Wire—accessed thousands of business press releases before publication, then illegally traded on that privileged insider information.