US indicts ex Equifax exec for insider trading

US prosecutors indicted a former Equifax executive over insider trading for allegedly selling shares before the company disclosed a massive hack, officials announced on Wednesday.

Jun Ying is the first former Equifax official charged in relation to last year’s data breach which was one of the worst hacks ever. Ying, who was chief information officer of the company’s US Information Systems business unit, allegedly sold more than $950,000 in stock shortly before the company announced the hack, said a news release from the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia.

Personal information on nearly 150 million American consumers was taken from Equifax, a credit bureau. The case has spawned congressional probes, government investigations and lawsuits.

“As alleged in our complaint, Ying used confidential information to conclude that his company had suffered a massive data breach, and he dumped his stock before the news went public,” said Richard Best, director of the Atlanta office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which announced a parallel civil case.

“Corporate insiders who learn inside information, including information about material cyber intrusions, cannot betray shareholders for their financial benefit.” (AFP)