Business News
"Stolen" Goldman Sachs computer code could be worth millions
Jul 7, 2009, 11:32 GMT
New York - A computer programmer with Goldman Sachs is being held on bail Tuesday, accused of the stealing secret code which helps the Wall Street banking giant execute transactions, according to New York court papers.
Sergey Aleynikov, 38, who was arrested on July 3 at Newark Airport and is being held on a 750,000-dollar bail, denies the charge of data theft, according to his lawyer.
The Russian-born Aleynikov, who holds joint US/Russian nationalities, is accused of downloading the code - which helps Goldman Sachs execute security transactions at high speed - to a server in Germany.
If the software gets into the wrong hands, it could cost millions in lost profits, an analyst told Bloomberg financial news service.
'Currently, we do not know who has had access to it,' the analyst added.
Goldman Sachs has not yet commented on the case.
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Older Talkback
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Hey Reader, your statement is idiotic ..If you have no knowledge about the subject, just shut up ...you just remove all doubts by opening your mouth....
@reader
Are you even aware of what you're commenting about? The code contains complex and highly refined algorithms that make Goldman millions every year.
'code is code it all does the samething like any other code'
no, that's incorrect
Please shut up and go back to your mother's basements
How about this? Goldman-Sachs is the next in a long series of 'enrons'. On the 17th of june, they announce that they are paying back the gov't bailout. Their stock has returned to close to the level they were at before the crash. Now, good heavens!!!...some one 'stole' some super secret computer code that could cost them MILLIONS of dollars!! It sounds like a very bad Hollywood script to me. This is another example of Wall Street creating the illusion of compliance, while they quietly steal BILLIONS from shareholders...mark my words...Their stock is in some serious trouble. This is probably the best time in history to short GS. I am thinking that by Xmas, they will have dropped over half their current value.
all you are dumb assess, you morons
a guy is in jail for having knowledge of a code?
Yeah right. Don't restrict access, just monitor and report to FBI when convenient. I would not trust a govnt led case. Think GS are more concerned with guys/girls like him keeping posession of their own mind and taking them elsewhere.
'code is code it all does the same thing like any other code'.
That is definitely not true. Google's search algorithm code is also worth millions, if not billions of dollars. Even until now, no one is able to replicate Google's closely guarded search algorithm to such speed and accuracy.
Everyone can write code, but not all codes are the same.
@reader
Please tell me you're joking.. It took years and years of development for GS to come up with this code that helps their company function.. if someone else uses this code without R&D they would have a huge gain on GS because of it..
Sounds very Chinese to me but I'm not pointing fingers..
That guys got three little girls and may very well have been doing some work at home.
US public should be very careful before jumping to conclusions and making wild assumptions. Fact that he's half Russian will be very convenient for prosecution who appear to have leaked his whole life story down to his earnings.
To say that code is code is to say that a Lamborghini and a Smart Fortwo are just cars. In Options Contract trading, the profits go to the ones who determine the spread the fastest and make their buy/sell decisions before their competitors do. Tens of thousands of man-hours goes into the design of the code to make it the fastest. It is very valuable intellectual property.
This is just more of the government/Goldman complex.
Dukeru I must disagree with you. When you look at the fact that the CFTC head Gensler worked at Goldman for 18 years, the Chief of Staff of the Treasury Dept. worked at Goldman Sachs, the gov't put Liddy in at AIG before the $13 bilion and he worked at Goldman Sachs, the NY Federal Reserve Chairman worked at Goldman Sachs (in fact the one that resigned recently was on the board of directors at Goldman Sachs.) Plus you had Paulson and another Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, that were Goldman alums. It is all over the place and the government will do anything to protect this firm.
The U.S. Attorney's statement of this code being used by others to manipulate the markets tell me that out government feels it is ok for Goldman to manipulate the markets, but not anyone else!
Has anyone read Matt Taibbi's article in the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine? If not, you really need to check it out.
I'm sure the code is important to GS, but what exactly does it do?
If they can't explain exactly WHAT it does, then I am also suspicious.
It's not like they'd have to explain HOW it works to reveal WHAT it does!
SPDA, see above. Some of the code reads the electronic 'ticker' of calls and puts; analyzes the spreads, trends, stock volatility, current interest rates, etc.; and based on an automated analysis model, places its own buy/sell orders for the options, all electronically. The software also looks at the several exchanges where particular options may be bought and sold to detect and exploit pricing mismatches. The details of the analysis are generally proprietary, but the sophistication and speed with which the analysis is done is the clincher. Others can do the same, but to the fastest with the more sophisticated models go the profits.
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ReaderJul 7th, 2009 - 12:34:55
I think it is being blown out of proportion, code is code it all does the samething like any other code. Corporations are known for over spending on software assets in to the millions by consultants.
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