Reports surfaced this weekend that hackers have broken into the Nasdaq’s communications networks. The company says that the breach did not impact the Nasdaq’s stock trading systems and that it did not expose any customer data.
The Associated Press reports that hackers broke into the service multiple times over more than a year. The target was apparently Directors Desk, an online communication and collaboration tool that helps corporations share documents with directors between scheduled board meetings. While the information you could conceivably glean from these meetings could be of great value, the FBI says it does not have a motive at this time for the intrusions.
Although the investigations were ongoing, Nasdaq had kept silent about the security breach until the story broke this weekend. Only then did it issue a statement and notify customers about the situation.
According to Nasdaq OMX spokesperson Frank DeMaria, the company had detected “suspicious files” during a routine security scan.
The news is the latest in a series of technology scares and snafus that have struck Wall Street. In May of last year, a “flash crash” set off a chain reaction that briefly wiped out $1 trillion in market value.
Photo credits: Flickr user Michael
