Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Cyberattacks on Hong Kong Stock Exchange

28-year-old businessman Tse Man-lai has been sentenced to nine months in prison for launching distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against the news website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx).

The attacks, which forced the organization to suspend trading for several stocks, were launched on August 12 and August 13, 2011. HSBC, Cathay Pacific and China Power International were among the affected organizations.

Although the systems that handled trading were not directly affected, transactions were disrupted because many investors relied on the information provided by the news site.

According to South China Morning Post, the man – who owns an IT company – pleaded not guilty to obtaining access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent.

The judge who handed out the sentence named the attacks “highly reckless.”