Episode
06 September 2022 Official episode · Official transcript
cybercrime
The episode describes a multi-year scheme in which hackers compromised Marketwire, PR Newswire, and Business Wire to steal unreleased corporate press releases, which traders used for insider trading.
Topics: SQL injection, PHP exploitation, Backdoor persistence, Phishing, Credential theft, Password cracking and brute force, IP-address concealment using proxies and VPNs, Compromise of financial newswire networks, Theft of unreleased press releases, Insider trading enabled by hacked data, Automated trade surveillance and anomaly detection, Digital evidence from seized laptops and chat logs
Links published on the Darknet Diaries episode page. Not LLM output.
Qualified statements from this episode, not graph facts.
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Marketwire
The scheme involved hacking Marketwire to obtain unreleased press releases.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“In February 2010, Ivan, the hacker in Ukraine, set his sights on Marketwire.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES PR Newswire
The scheme involved hacking PR Newswire and accessing unreleased press releases.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“Then in July 2010, he added PR Newswire to his target list.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Business Wire
The scheme involved compromising Business Wire and taking non-public press releases.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“Eventually he was able to brute force his way into Business Wire this way, and once inside, he started grabbing dozens of non-public press releases.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Ivan Turchynov
Ivan Turchynov was the hacker who accessed the newswire systems and stole press releases.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“He had a guy who was in his twenties from Ukraine called Ivan Turchynov.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Arkadiy Dubovoy
Arkadiy was presented as a trader and organizer who received stolen releases and arranged trades.
Explicit Confidence 98% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“He then sent them directly to Arkadiy and Alexander.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Vitaly Korchevsky
Vitaly joined the scheme as a trader using early access to stolen financial information.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“Vitaly Korchevsky, hedge fund manager and Baptist pastor, was in.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Oleksandr Ieremenko
Oleksandr Ieremenko was one of the hackers who took over access to a newswire.
Explicit Confidence 98% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“They hacked into one of the newswires themselves and cut Ivan’s access off.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES Vadym
Vadym was brought into the hacking side of the scheme and later admitted hacking all three newswires.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“He admitted personally to hacking all three of the newswires and stealing employee credentials.”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES SQL injection
The hackers used SQL injection attacks to penetrate newswire systems.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Paul Fishman EP 123 Details
“using a variety of hacking techniques and tactics including brute force attacks, SQL injection attacks, and phishing”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES phishing
The scheme involved phishing as one of the hacking tactics used against the newswires.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Paul Fishman EP 123 Details
“including brute force attacks, SQL injection attacks, and phishing”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme INVOLVES brute-force password cracking
The hackers used brute-force attacks to obtain access to Business Wire.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Paul Fishman EP 123 Details
“including brute force attacks, SQL injection attacks, and phishing”
Ivan Turchynov EXPLOITS SQL injection vulnerability
Ivan exploited a SQL injection vulnerability in the Marketwire website after scanning it for weaknesses.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“He scanned the website looking for a vulnerability, and found the website was vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.”
Ivan Turchynov USES PHP code exploitation
Ivan exploited PHP code on the PR Newswire website to gain access to its servers.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“he was able to exploit this PHP code that was on the website to gain access to their servers”
Ivan Turchynov USES Backdoor
Ivan planted a PHP script that provided persistent backdoor access to PR Newswire’s network.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“He left a PHP script there that would give him backdoor access to this place”
Ivan Turchynov USES brute-force password cracking
Ivan used password cracking and brute force to enter Business Wire after obtaining a user database and hashed passwords.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“Eventually he was able to brute force his way into Business Wire this way”
Ivan Turchynov USES Proxy
Ivan advised participants to use a proxy to conceal their IP addresses.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“Ivan also shared tips too on how to use a proxy and a VPN to hide the IP addresses”
Ivan Turchynov USES VPN
Ivan advised participants to use a VPN to conceal their IP addresses.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“how to use a proxy and a VPN to hide the IP addresses”
Marketwire breach COMPROMISES Marketwire
The Marketwire breach compromised Marketwire’s website and exposed unreleased press releases.
Derived Confidence 98% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“he found a way into where the unreleased press releases were stored, and he scooped up 900 of them”
PR Newswire breach COMPROMISES PR Newswire
The PR Newswire breach gave the hackers access to its servers and unreleased press releases.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“During that examination, they found Ivan’s backdoor and they saw how he was stealing press releases.”
Business Wire breach COMPROMISES Business Wire
The Business Wire breach enabled the hackers to enter the site and steal non-public press releases.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“once inside, he started grabbing dozens of non-public press releases”
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission USES Artemis
The SEC used Artemis, an analytics system, to detect suspicious trading patterns.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“the SEC has a secret weapon called Artemis”
PR Newswire breach DISCOVERED_BY Federal Bureau of Investigation
The FBI notified PR Newswire that it had been breached before the company knew about the compromise.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“the FBI told PR Newswire that they’ve been breached”
PR Newswire breach DISCOVERED_BY Stroz Friedberg
Stroz Friedberg investigated the PR Newswire breach and found Ivan’s backdoor.
Explicit Confidence 97% · Jack Rhysider EP 123 Details
“PR Newswire then called in a security firm called Stroz Friedberg to investigate”
Newswire hacking and insider-trading scheme ATTRIBUTED_TO Ukraine
The prosecution described the hackers as largely operating in Ukraine.
Explicit Confidence 99% · Paul Fishman EP 123 Details
“hackers largely operating in Ukraine repeatedly penetrated the networks and servers”
Works mentioned in the transcript. Distinct from show-note sources.
Model gpt-5.6-luna · prompt 1.5.19 · schema 1.5.19 · 2026-09-13T07:43:03.490558+00:00