The owner of a Russian penetration-testing company, Vladislav Klyushin, has been found guilty of being part of an elaborate scheme that netted $90 million after stealing SEC earning reports. Klyushin and his co-conspirators hacked into two US-based filing agents used by publicly-traded American companies to file earning reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The groups would gain access to sensitive corporate information, allowing them to make millions of dollars through insider trading. Companies whose earning reports were illegally obtained included Tesla, Roku, and Snap. Additionally, Klyushin ran a “hack-to-trade” scheme that took money from others for share trading, keeping 60% of the profits. Klyushin is estimated to have personally made over $38 million from the scheme.
Klyushin was arrested in Switzerland in March 2021 and subsequently extradited to the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 4, 2023. However, four of Klyushin’s co-conspirators – Ivan Ermakov, Nikolai Rumiantcev, Mikhail Vladimirovich Irzak, and Igor Sergeevich Sladkov – remain at large. As far back as 2015, the SEC was warning that “failures in cybersecurity have prompted a dangerous, new method of unlawful insider trading.”
The case of Klyushin and his co-conspirators highlights the danger of hackers exploiting vulnerabilities and stealing sensitive information for their own gain. This case is an example of the lengths cybercriminals will go to in order to make a profit. It is important to be aware of the potential security risks and take steps to protect yourself from such illegal activities.
The key points of this article are:
1. Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of a Russian cybersecurity firm, was found guilty of partaking in an elaborate scheme that netted $90 million.
2. Klyushin and his co-conspirators hacked into two US-based filing agents to gain access to sensitive corporate information.
3. Klyushin ran a “hack-to-trade” scheme which he made over $38 million from.
4. Four of Klyushin’s co-conspirators remain at large.
5. The SEC has been warning of “failures in cybersecurity” as far back as 2015.
6. This case is an example of the lengths cybercriminals will go to in order to make a profit.