A wave of unauthorized trading has hit online brokerage accounts in Japan, raising concerns that criminal groups may be using the hijacked accounts to manipulate stock prices.
The breach came to light in late March, when Rakuten Securities disclosed a series of account takeovers. Nomura Securities, SBI Securities and other firms have since confirmed similar incidents. According to the companies, the attackers used phishing schemes — creating websites posing as legitimate sites to steal user IDs and passwords — to impersonate customers and execute trades without their knowledge.
Initial reports indicate the attackers targeted mostly foreign stocks. Rakuten Securities temporarily suspended buy orders for select Chinese equities in response. But the impact has since spread to domestic stocks, with trading halted for some names amid suspicious activity.
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