Wall Street's biggest hedge funds just got a wake-up call. Over the past few days, hackers launched a coordinated attack using AI to clone employees' voices and trick staff into handing over system access. The targets? Heavy hitters like Ken Griffin's Citadel, Steve Cohen's Point72, and Two Sigma. According to a Bloomberg report published Wednesday, the attackers used technology that can listen to phone calls and then replicate a speaker's voice, tone, and phrasing to create convincing fake calls.
Two Sigma confirmed it was targeted in the attempted vishing (voice phishing) campaign. In a statement, the firm said, "Our security team responded quickly to an attempted vishing campaign targeting Two Sigma and other investment managers, and we have no indication of any impact to our data or our systems." Citadel and Point72 were also on the target list, but their spokespeople declined to say whether hackers actually got through. Several unnamed private equity firms faced similar attempts, according to Bloomberg.
Regulators are already paying attention. FINRA launched its Financial Intelligence Fusion Center back in March, giving member firms a place to share fraud intelligence and coordinate responses to sophisticated threats. A FINRA spokesperson declined to comment on this specific incident but confirmed they've been in contact with affected firms.
Will Wilson, CEO of IT security firm Antithesis, argues that financial firms have had it too easy for too long. For decades, they benefited from a scarcity of hacking expertise. But modern AI has "commoditized" that skill set, he says, pushing hedge funds and other firms toward urgent security upgrades or serious consequences. "The terrifying thing about modern-day AI systems is that they have commoditized this and made it possible to execute attacks at scale," Wilson told Bloomberg. "Everybody will have to seriously level up. Otherwise they are going to be in big trouble."
So far, no confirmed breaches, stolen data, ransom demands, or financial losses have been publicly disclosed from this campaign. But the stakes are enormous. Wall Street firms process trillions of dollars in daily transactions, and AI is making cyberweapons more accessible than ever, even against the most sophisticated financial institutions.
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