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DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

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Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#61

Post by bobthepanda »

gtirloni wrote: post #47
aboutruby wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet many services rely on SSN for identity verification in the US (e.g. banks, telecoms, etc.)

You mean they rely solely on someone dictating a SSN number? That's insane. They should ask for a official ID with photo, as the very minimum. Is that something that goes against the American culture? The other day I had to give all 10 fingerprints to renew my driver's license (location: South America) and nobody seemed to care.

America historically was not very federalized, and being able to just abandon your life and move out west is a key part of the country's mythology, if not the DNA of the country. So there have always been attempts to resist a national ID system, and the SSN was originally not supposed to be used for this purpose.

Of course in 2019 this is basically a moot point if you want to be integrated into society, but even then there are people who are legitimately not integrated into the modern US economy by choice.

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#62

Post by TheOperator »

rando444 wrote: post #60
wtvanhest wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, everyone's SSN should be public. Mine has already be compromised by both my undergrad and grad school. At this point, I operate under the assumption that it is public knowledge for bad actors. Hiding SSNs is false security at best. If they were public, banks would stop hiding behind "identity theft" and would start having to acknowledge that its their responsibility to confirm who they are lending money to.

The problem with identity in the USA has always been a religious problem more than anything else. All legislation aimed around allowing people to be identified by numbers has been killed due to the whole "mark of the beast" .. "can't buy sell or trade without your number" revelations rhetoric. As religion has less of an impact on people's daily lives, I expect this to change, but in the past it's been the one thing t…

If its primarily a religious problem why do countries less religious than the US have similar concepts? SINs in Canada, NINs in the UK, etc. etc

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#63

Post by jason46 »

aboutruby wrote: post #41
wtvanhest wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, everyone's SSN should be public. Mine has already be compromised by both my undergrad and grad school. At this point, I operate under the assumption that it is public knowledge for bad actors. Hiding SSNs is false security at best. If they were public, banks would stop hiding behind "identity theft" and would start having to acknowledge that its their responsibility to confirm who they are lending money to.

And yet many services rely on SSN for identity verification in the US (e.g. banks, telecoms, etc.)

Best Buy credit. I never have my card on me, but I can use my credit account with my Soc.

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#64

Post by ThomPete »

aboutruby wrote: post #41
wtvanhest wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, everyone's SSN should be public. Mine has already be compromised by both my undergrad and grad school. At this point, I operate under the assumption that it is public knowledge for bad actors. Hiding SSNs is false security at best. If they were public, banks would stop hiding behind "identity theft" and would start having to acknowledge that its their responsibility to confirm who they are lending money to.

And yet many services rely on SSN for identity verification in the US (e.g. banks, telecoms, etc.)

But they are not really secret just like your email isnt. Its using it as if it is thats the problem imo

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#65

Post by quickthrower2 »

airstrike wrote: post #49
illgenr wrote: post #4

Is there a reason why all SEC filing shouldn't be immediately publicly available?

Because markets are built upon the assumption that time is discrete, not continuous.

But.. is it continuous?

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#66

Post by crumpets »

nostrademons wrote: post #52
rocqua wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it prevents people hammering the servers to get the earning reports ASAP. With this, people have a few hours to get the reports which means miliseconds matter less.

...which happens anyway. Starting 5-10 minutes before the official earnings reports come out, investor.google.com gets hammered by bots, requesting every few milliseconds until the actual page is released. I knew an SRE that wanted to put up a fake earnings report until the official time at which the real one was released, to disincentivize this behavior, but the lawyers nixed that idea really quick.

Why didn't they just decide to delay the posting by 30 seconds? It's not like that would deter regular users but it completely eliminates the high speed trading case.

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#67

Post by wuliwong »

wtvanhest wrote: post #25
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #20

> The New York Stock Exchange has asked the SEC to consider limiting the amount of data collected by the CAT, which would include data on around 58 billion daily trades, as well as the personal details of individuals making the trades, including their Social Security numbers and dates of birth Dropping SSNs for natural persons would be a good idea.

IMO, everyone's SSN should be public. Mine has already be compromised by both my undergrad and grad school. At this point, I operate under the assumption that it is public knowledge for bad actors. Hiding SSNs is false security at best. If they were public, banks would stop hiding behind "identity theft" and would start having to acknowledge that its their responsibility to confirm who they are lending money to.

Not saving my SSN along with my transaction is different than my SSN being "public".

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#68

Post by crumpets »

fixermark wrote: post #33
aqme28 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious -- why does that matter? In either case there's a single moment wherein people can trade on it. Why is it better for that moment to be at 9:30 instead of say noon?

Market trade panics are positive feedback loops. The closure of the market and the release of data while the market's closed allows investors to digest new information and move with their heads, not their hearts, decreasing the risk of regrettable shocks.

Meh, stocks trade after hours immediately after release so this excuse leaves something to be desired. It also doesn't account for the before open releases.

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#69

Post by jmalicki »

EpicEng wrote: post #45
mruts wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s theft from the corporation they work for. GP is 100% correct in this case. Just read Matt Levine’s Money Stuff. He goes over this stuff a lot.

I'm not disagreeing with you because I have no clue about this stuff, but man that is an odd usage of the word 'theft'. Sounds more like improper use to me, e.g., getting a speeding ticket while using a company truck. I didn't steal the truck, but I used it in a way which is unlawful.

It's more like you were authorized to drive the truck to make deliveries, but you used it to pick up your kids from school and go grocery shopping without your employer's permission, causing wear and tear on the truck that caused economic damage to your employer without their permission.

Re: DOJ: Hackers broke into an SEC database and made millions from inside info

#70

Post by crumpets »

sandworm101 wrote: post #15
aqme28 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious -- why does that matter? In either case there's a single moment wherein people can trade on it. Why is it better for that moment to be at 9:30 instead of say noon?

Because they need time to correct errors and to prevent fraud. Say someone gets into the SEC and decides to release a fraudulent report. If that happens during off hours it can be rectified, but if it happens during the trading day the markets will react instantly and the damage is done. Fixed release times also means that the companies submitting the filings cannot pick an advantageous time. Imagine if Musk was sitt…

>If he could manipulate the exact time of its release he could leverage all sorts of things.

There's already protection against him insider trading. Not sure what else "leverage all sorts of things" is.

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