Three Charged In JPMorgan Hack, Largest Bank Breach Ever

Two men are in custody and a third is on the run after allegedly hacking banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the largest bank breach in history.

From 2012 to 2015, the men allegedly stole information from more than 100 million customers, Bloomberg reports. 

Among the other victims is a major business news publication, according to an indictment released Tuesday. Patricia Wexler, spokeswoman for JPMorgan, could confirm only that JPMorgan is one of the victims.

"I can confirm officially that we’re victim number one referenced in the indictment," Wexler said. As for the news publication, "We’re all speculating and trying to guess, but I don’t have anything official," she added.

Online brokerage Scottrade and finance publishing house Dow Jones also claim to have been victims.  

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called the hack "one of the largest ... ever uncovered," at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. He referred to the size and scope of the hacks as "breathtaking," according to the Wall Street Journal.

Defendants Ziv Orenstein and Gery Shalon were arrested in Israel, CBS News reports. The other, Joshua Aaron, is still at large but is thought to be in Eastern Europe.

The defendants are also accused of being involved in other illegal activities, including running illegal online gambling businesses and malware distributors. The men hid at least $100 million in Swiss bank accounts and laundered money through 75 shell companies, according to the indictment. Authorities collected more than 30 fake passports owned by the men.

In one scheme, Shalon, Aaron and Orenstein "manipulated trading" to a particularly publicly traded stock. 

"We buy [stocks] very cheap, perform machinations, then play with them," Sharon is accused of saying. When asked if buying stocks was popular in America, Shalon allegedly replied: "It's like drinking freaking vodka in Russia."

"We appreciate the strong partnership with law enforcement in bringing the criminals to justice," JPMorgan said in a statement. "As we did here, we continue to cooperate with law enforcement in fighting cybercrime."

JPMorgan had initially refused to admit how many people were hacked.