NASDAQ Hackers Spied on Company Directors

Malware gave hackers access to corporate communications
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2011 1:40 AM CDT
Updated Oct 21, 2011 2:05 AM CDT
NASDAQ Hackers Spied on Company Directors
Hackers slipped past NASDAQ's billion-dollar defenses several times last year.   (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Hackers who broke into the NASDAQ stock exchange's systems last year stole a lot more information than previously thought, sources close to the investigation tell Reuters. The hackers installed malware on a software program that corporate boards use to share documents and communicate with executives, which allowed them to spy on scores of company directors.

"God knows exactly what they have done. The long term impact of such an attack is still unknown," says a cybersecurity expert with experience protecting financial institutions. It's not clear how long the hackers had access to NASDAQ's systems before the attack was discovered late last year. The chief of the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command says the agency is working with NASDAQ to fend off further attacks. (More cybercrime stories.)

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