PETALING JAYA: Following reports from Bloomberg yesterday on a cybercrime wave that struck Japan’s brokerage industry, Malaysian industry experts believe the hack may have already reached local bourses, affecting several Malaysian stock brokerages.
According to Klever Stock Sdn Bhd, a local source revealed that the unauthorised trades involve driving up the prices by purchasing shares using compromised accounts belonging to unsuspecting investors.
It is believed that the hackers employed advanced techniques to access brokerage accounts, using them to artificially inflate the prices of penny stocks.
When queried on the matter, Bursa Malaysia confirmed that reports have been lodged with both the exchange and the Securities Commission, following the detection of unauthorised access and trading activities involving several online trading accounts by a few brokers.
“The extent of the incident is being ascertained. Capital market regulators and the brokers are working closely on the matter,” the stock exchange said in response to StarBiz.
Bloomberg reported that the scams typically involve using hacked accounts to buy thinly traded stocks, both domestically and overseas, allowing perpetrators who built up early positions to cash out at inflated values.
In response, some Japanese securities firms have reportedly stopped processing buy orders for certain Chinese, US and Japanese stocks.
“Eight of the country’s biggest brokers including Rakuten Securities Inc and SBI Securities Co have reported unauthorised trading on their platforms,” the Bloomberg report said about the hacking situation in Japan.
