Financial regulators should take note of Snowden

Once upon a time, the antics of US spies in cyber space was of interest only to other spooks and to internet geeks. No longer.

Last year Edward Snowden stirred political outrage with revelations that the US National Security Agency was spying on American citizens and European officials. Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, has created more furore by accusing the Central Intelligence Agency of snooping on Senate officials.

But there is another area where the activities of American cyber spooks have created unexpected fallout: in financial exchanges and market data groups. Investors should watch this saga since it may have financial stability implications.