Ahacker has reportedly made millions of dollars by breaking into valuable Office 365 accounts and using the information found inside, on the stock market.
The office of the US Attorney for the district of New Jersey has recently accused a UK national called Robert B. Westbrook of one count each of securities fraud and wire fraud, and five counts of computer fraud.
Westbrook is now facing years in prison, and millions of dollars in potential fines.
Years in jail
The five counts of computer fraud involve breaking into five Office 365 email accounts belonging to highly-positioned executives working in publicly traded companies.
The securities fraud and wire fraud involve using the information found in those accounts for trading on the stock market. Allegedly, Westbrook would break into these email accounts and look for yet unpublished quarterly financial reports. Once found, he would read through them to see if the company performed good or bad, and use the knowledge to determine whether the stock will rise in value, or fall - classic insider trading.
Apparently, Westbrook was doing this between 2019 and 2020, and managed to earn some $3.75 million.
“The SEC is engaged in ongoing efforts to protect markets and investors from the consequences of cyber fraud,” Jorge G. Tenreiro, acting chief of the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, said in a statement.
“As this case demonstrates, even though Westbrook took multiple steps to conceal his identity—including using anonymous email accounts, VPN services, and utilizing bitcoin—the Commission’s advanced data analytics, crypto asset tracing, and technology can uncover fraud even in cases involving sophisticated international hacking.”
For his alleged misdoings, Westbrook is now looking at up to 20 years in prison and $5 million in fines, for securities fraud. He’s also looking at up to 20 years in prison, or $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense (whichever is greater), for wire fraud. Finally, each count of breaking into the email account carries up to five years in prison, or $250,000 in fines.
At press time, there is no information on how Westbrook pleaded.
