|  | | 2005 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
Trading Online? Watch Out, SEC Says Regulators Warn Against Hacking Attacks, Urge Caution
Staff Writer – Marketwatch
Securities Mosaic. December 3, 2005
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EXCERPT: It's an investor's worst nightmare: opening their online brokerage account one day to find -- poof! -- the stocks all have been liquidated and the money is gone.
Sounds unlikely? It's not only possible, regulators warn, it's even getting worse.
Over the past several months, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, regulators have been tipped off to "numerous" incidents of hacking into online brokerage accounts. Wall Street's chief watchdog agency won't disclose how many of investigations are under way. But the SEC is concerned enough to be sounding the alarm with investors. "These cases were not on our radar six months ago," says Susan Wyderko, director of the SEC's office of investor education and assistance. "And they are now." For their part, the companies that offer online trading -- including Charles Schwab SCH, Ameritrade AMTD and E-Trade ET -- have taken new protective steps while also warning online traders to be more vigilant about protecting their assets from identity-theft scams like "phishing" and "pharming." For investors, the stakes are high. Many score low marks when it comes to Internet investing safety-preparedness, say online safety advocates. And while trading firms have successfully helped victims recoup losses, they can't guarantee customers will get 100% of their money back in every case.
"In terms of awareness in America," says Ron Teixeira of the National Cyber Security Alliance, "a lot of people don't understand what they need to do." An October 2004 survey by the alliance and America Online found 84% of computer users store sensitive data on their home computers. |
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