Traders who hacked into companies to steal press releases made millions of dollars in profits by making trades based on the information they obtained, as seen in the case of Caterpillar in 2012. However, this illegal activity eventually caught up to them and led to their downfall.
Traders used insider information to purchase 600 shares of Caterpillar Inc., worth $8.3 million, causing an increase in stock prices. Two traders were charged with multiple counts of securities fraud.
The story of how a newswire company was hacked twice by competing hackers who were stealing press releases and using that information to make trades to make millions of dollars.
Hacks often boil down to information theft and can have various motives and targets. US authorities were able to take down a hacking operation through stolen press releases and online chat logs.