Security News > 2021 > January > Intel's Early Earnings Release Triggered by Hack
U.S. chip-making giant Intel Corp. has acknowledged a website hack and premature data disclosure forced the early release of its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2020.
The discovery led to a decision by Intel to release the financial results six minutes before the market closed.
Intel CFO George Davis told the Financial Times that an infographic was leaked and the company believed hackers obtained it from its PR newsroom website.
Intel's Q4 earnings exceeded expectations, which led to shares closing up nearly 7% on Thursday, but they fell back down on Friday following news of the possible hack.
"The negative impact on Intel's finances after a hacker gained early access to earnings information from its website is a sign of why data security has become a boardroom issue," Max Vetter, chief cyber officer at cybersecurity skills platform Immersive Labs, said via email.
An operation disclosed in 2015 by U.S. authorities helped a group make more than $100 million after obtaining non-public earnings information from hacked newswires.