The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Saturday arrested a man who is suspected of hacking into online brokerage firms and creating substantial losses in their customers' accounts.
The suspect, Chang Shian-tang (
Chang then allegedly decoded the customers' passwords and personal information of more than 2,000 customers, and with this information logged on and traded stocks.
Chang allegedly created losses estimated at NT$10 million.
The CIB first heard of the case when it received complaints from two online trading companies that reported unusually high incidences of short-selling.
When the companies asked their clients to buy back the stock, the clients denied having placed the trades.
On June 30, the CIB tracked Chang to his residence in Chungho (
According to local media, the CIB's investigations into the case revealed that the security systems for many online brokerage firms are very similar and easily breached.
Investigators found that some companies even leave their customers' information and passwords in plain computer code, leaving the information virtually in plain sight and saving the hacker a tremendous amount of effort.
Investigators were even more surprised when they realized that Chang was able to use a customers' password and information to change the electronic identification certificate.
This certificate is a critical piece of information because it allows an online company to recognize its customers within its databases.
The incident has revealed an immediate need for online brokerage companies to upgrade their security.
Last year, legislators proposed measures against economic crimes such as credit card fraud, pyramid schemes, professional gambling as well as Internet-related financial crimes.
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