Hong Kong Stock Exchange web site hack causes trading to be halted

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) was forced to halt trading on Wednesday afternoon after a hack on its HKExnews web site for regulatory filings and disclosures.

Several stocks were halted after the hack, which disrupted the site to such a degree that not all investors may have had equal access to the vital trading information.

The exchange has now resumed trading, but the outage will do nothing to bolster the shaky confidence among traders. Hong Kong stocks have reportedly lost hundreds of billions in value during August owing to adverse economic conditions and fears over the US debt mountain.

"During the interruption, HKEx activated the Bulletin Board (www.bulletinboard.hk) for issuers' information disclosure. The bulletin board will continue operation in parallel with the HKExnews web site today," said an official statement on Thursday.

"HKEx's other systems were not affected during the incident and trading in its securities and derivatives markets continued to operate normally. HKEx has referred the incident to the police and the Securities and Futures Commission."

The motives and origins of the hackers have not yet been disclosed, and the Securities and Futures Commission is still investigating the incident, although the hack affected only the web site and no other trading systems.

"The systems responsible for trading are not hooked up to the internet, which should provide an additional degree of protection," said Sophos Canada senior security advisor Chester Wisniewski.

"It was refreshing to see [the HKEx chief executive] not blame the attacks on uber-sophisticated, foreign, advanced ninja hackers, but rather state the facts and explain what the exchange is doing to ensure the integrity of the market."

The news comes just months after the Nasdaq's OMX financial computer systems were hacked in a possible attempt to steal trader information.