Some security experts say that exploits like the one Tuesday could be used to manipulate the markets for profit. Hugh Thompson, organizer of the annual RSA Conference on information security, says the incident “showed even to cybercriminal organizations that there’s real potential profit in doing these kinds of attacks. I think you’ll see attacks like this increase.”

With last week's Boston marathon bombing still fresh in people's minds, it's unclear whether yesterday's hack was meant to provoke fear, interfere with Wall Street or just embarrass an established news organization. At least two groups have claimed credit for the phony message, including the Syrian Electronic Army, which hacked NPR's website earlier this month. The FBI, Secret Service and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are all reportedly investigating.

Those uncertainties aside, the incident shows that information relayed by Twitter feed is becoming more influential on Wall Street. Earlier this month, Bloomberg announced it was adding Twitter to its widely used financial news terminals.

The Tell, a blog on The Wall Street Journal's Marketwatch site reported financial industry reaction to yesterday's Twitter incident.

" 'In many respects, Twitter is the latest news wire of Wall Street. Investors have come to rely on the social medium for minute-by-minute news and opinion,' said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

"[Experts] said ... they expected the day’s action could be a wake-up call for regulators to oversee the increasingly close relationship between social media and Wall Street.

" 'I imagine there will be additional trading safeguards that will need to be enacted, as there were following the insider trading scandals,' said Peter Sorrentino, senior portfolio manager at Huntington Asset Advisors."

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How a Phony Tweet Moved the Markets: 71 Characters That Briefly Shook the Financial World