US DOJ indicts Briton over ‘hack-to-trade’ scheme.

A British man has been arrested and charged by US authorities with hacking into the computers of five companies to obtain details of their expected earnings and making $3.75 million in illegal profits by trading before the results were published.

The US Department of Justice will seek the extradition of Robert Westbrook, 39, of London, to face securities fraud, wire fraud and five counts of computer fraud contained in a criminal indictment made public on Friday.

Westbrook was arrested this week in the United Kingdom and also faces civil charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. His attorney could not be immediately identified.

The companies were not identified by name in court documents filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.

Financial and stock price details in the SEC complaint suggest the companies are food container maker Tupperware, general contractor Tutor Perini, software provider Guidewire Software, gas station operator Murphy USA and telecommunications equipment maker Lumentum Holdings.

Authorities said Westbrook’s “hack-to-trade” scheme involved gaining access to executives’ email accounts between January 2019 and May 2020 and using nonpublic material information to buy stock and options before at least 14 winning ads.

On several occasions, Westbrook allegedly implemented rules so that content from executives’ email accounts was automatically redirected to his own accounts.

Jorge Tenreiro, acting head of the SEC’s crypto-assets and cyber unit, called Westbrook’s activity “sophisticated international hacking,” including the use of anonymous email accounts, VPN services and bitcoin to hide wrongdoing.

None of the five companies have been accused of wrongdoing.

The securities fraud and wire fraud each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while each count of computer fraud carries a maximum term of five years.

TOPICS
USA Cyber