Hedge fund loses millions after being hacked
An unnamed hedge fund has lost millions of dollars after it was hacked last year, according to BAE Systems Applied Intelligence.
The attackers stole portable company secrets by installing malware software, and in the process slowed down high-speed trading.
The attack took place over a two-month period and has accumulatively cost the fund millions of dollars.
Using the malware installed on the fund's network, the hackers lifted information on complex and high speed trades from the firm and then sent the details to external servers.
It did so by targeting the fund's trade order entry system and adding gaps to the company's trading algorithm, according to BAE product director Paul Henninger.
UPDATE: on 3 July, a spokeswoman for BAE Systems confirmed that this attack did not actually happen, and that the case described was supposed to be an illustrative example of what could happen, rather than an actual attack on a specific hedge fund.