Chinese Hackers Charged With Trading on Stolen Law Firm Data

(Bloomberg) - Three Chinese hackers made more than $4 million in illicit profits after breaking into the servers of top corporate law firms in New York, the U.S. said in announcing charges and the arrest of one of the men.The three targeted at least seven major international law firms that had been retained by companies to advise on deals and successfully got into the e-mail accounts of senior lawyers at two of the firms, according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday.They profited on deals and speculation involving the drug maker Intermune, chipmaker Intel Corp. and business services company Pitney Bowes Inc., the U.S. said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also sued and is seeking an asset freeze.The case places law firms among the widening group of targets for cybercriminals seeking to profit from insider information. Last year, the U.S. broke up an international ring of hackers who allegedly infiltrated the computer servers of PRNewswire Association LLC, Marketwired and Business Wire and stole market-moving press releases before they were published. According to the SEC, the group, which included Ukrainians and a Georgian, made more than $100 million from trading on the information."This case of cyber meets securities fraud should serve as a wake-up call for law firms around the world," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in the statement.The three men - Iat Hong and Chin Hung, 50, of Macau, and Bo Zheng, 30, of China - worked at a robotics company that was started by Zheng, according to the government. Hong, 26, was arrested in Hong Kong on Christmas Day and is awaiting extradition. The SEC is also seeking to freeze an account registered in Hong's mother's name.  Continue reading...