Computer hackers have breached the systems of the company that runs the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York but did not penetrate the part of the system that handles trades, Nasdaq said Saturday.
The exchange’s operating company, Nasdaq OMX, said in a statement that it had discovered suspicious files on its United States servers, and that it immediately began conducting an investigation in conjunction with outside firms and federal law enforcement agencies.
Government and law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation said it was being handled by the F.B.I.’s cybercrimes branch along with the Justice Department. These officials also said it appeared that the trading platform was not breached.
An attack on banks and other pillars the financial system has long been a top fear of government officials because of the potential for harm to the economy.
Nasdaq is one of the country’s largest stock exchanges, and many of the nation’s most important companies use it to list their shares for trading. If there were evidence that hackers could breach the inner trading systems, it could cause jitters among the companies listed on the exchange and the traders and investors who buy and sell millions of shares each day.
via www.nytimes.com
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