Jun Ying, former Chief Information Officer at Equifax, will start a 4-month prison stint following involvement in insider trading. News sites report that the suspect pleaded guilty last March 7, 2019.
Ying is the second employee charged with insider trader relating to the breach. According to the United States Department of Justice, former manager Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu from Equifax also pled guilty.
Detailed Account
In 2017, Equifax announced a data privacy breach afflicting the company, upon learning about it on July 29, 2017. Despite learning about the incident early on, the company only announced the leak almost three months after it happened. The announcement only came on September 7, 2017, resulting in a decline in the stock prices of the corporation.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Ying texted his co-worker, saying the leak “sounds bad.” He further went to tell the co-worker their involvement, stating “we may be the one breached.” As the former Chief Information Officer, he was privy to information prior to public announcements.
The former CIO reportedly conducted internet searches regarding the stock prices after a similar breach in 2015, state CNET.
After news surrounding the leaks, The Verge notes that Ying immediately sold all his shares. The shares included a total of 6,815 Equifax stocks. From the sale, he was able to garner more than $950,000. The report also notes that Ying “realized a gain of over $480,000, thereby avoiding a loss of $117,000.”
The incident revealed the aftermath which affected 147 million people in the United States. The data breach revealed Social Security numbers, names, and addresses of individuals notes CNET.
Selfish Reasons
United States Attorney, Byung J. “BJay” Pak notes that the suspect exuded a sense of selfishness. He said, “Ying thought of his own financial gain before the millions of people exposed in this data breach.” Pak states “he abused the trust placed in him and the senior position he held to profit from inside information.”
Charges and Convictions
Based on the report published by CNET, Jun Ying worked at the company as CIO of its US Information Solutions. Apart from going to prison, Ying will be paying $117,000 in restitution. Meanwhile, the fine for insider trading amounts to $55,000.
44-year-old Jun Ying hails from Atlanta, Georgia. The United States Attorney’s Office from the Northern District of Georgia ordered one-year supervision after Ying’s four-month prison sentence.
