Sophisticated Voice Phishing Attacks Target Major Wall Street Firms
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
According to ThinkAdvisor, hackers recently launched a series of sophisticated cyberattacks against major Wall Street firms, including prominent hedge funds and private equity companies.
Point72 Asset Management informed investors that attackers had targeted the firm's information systems. According to a person familiar with the matter, the firm's initial review showed no indication that attackers had stolen client information. Point72 continued to investigate the incident.
Attackers also attempted to gain access to systems at Two Sigma Investments, Citadel, and several private equity firms, according to people familiar with the attacks.
The campaign relied on voice phishing, or vishing. Cybercriminals use technology to imitate voices during phone calls or messages and attempt to convince employees to disclose sensitive information or provide access to internal systems.
Two Sigma, which manages $75 billion in assets, said it stopped an attempted vishing attack before attackers accessed sensitive information.
"Our security team responded quickly to an attempted vishing campaign targeting Two Sigma and other investment managers, and we have no indication of any impact to our data or our systems," a Two Sigma spokesperson said, according to ThinkAdvisor.
Vinod Paul, president of cybersecurity and information technology firm Align Managed Services, said artificial intelligence has made it easier and less expensive for bad actors to conduct attacks on a much larger scale. He explained that hackers can use technology to analyze conversations and imitate a person's voice, tone, and manner of speaking to create convincing fraudulent calls.
The recent incidents follow a June warning from Google's cybersecurity unit about similar attacks targeting law firms and other professional services companies. Those attacks also used vishing techniques and, in some cases, involved individuals who entered corporate offices while posing as IT workers.
According to ThinkAdvisor, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has communicated with member firms about the recent attempted breaches. In March, FINRA launched the Financial Intelligence Fusion Center, a secure portal that allows FINRA and member firms to share intelligence about fraud threats and coordinate their responses to increasingly sophisticated cyber and fraud risks.
The attacks highlight the growing risk that scammers or rogue states may use advanced technology to expand the scale of cyberattacks. ThinkAdvisor reports that such attacks can disrupt firms and markets that process trillions of dollars in daily transactions and may also involve demands for ransom to restore access to data or systems.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, cybersecurity, voice phishing, securities law, hedge funds, private equity
