In a speech to the New York City Bar Association on October 20, 2010, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the SDNY had some interesting comments and observations about insider trading and the future of enforcement in that area. In a speech that generally addressed "The Future of White Collar Enforcement: A Prosecutor's View," Bharara told the audience of lawyers that there was one substantive area of white collar enforcement that he want to address specifically: insider trading.

Bharara said that from his vantage point as U.S. Attorney in the SDNY, illegal insider trading appeared to be "rampant and may even be on the rise." Bharara acknowledged that while there were some people who didn't understand why the DOJ has made insider trading a priority, he believes it is "extremely significant and should be to everyone who cares about the protection of confidential information and the integrity of the markets." He called the offense involving a tipper and a tippee "both a theft and a fraud" that was intolerable, as it "cheats every other participant and offends the principles of the market that honest players live by and make their living on."

Bharara also stated that it was disturbing to him that many of the people on Wall Street who are going to great lengths to obtain inside information are already privileged and wealthy insiders. He compared the fuel of insider trading (material non-public information) to a form of "financial steroid. It is unfair; it is offensive; it is unlawful; and it puts a black mark on the entire enterprise."

Bharara vowed that prosecutors would continue to use court-authorized wiretaps in insider trading cases. He explained that in insider trading cases, where an essential element of the crime is a communication, "it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that it would be helpful to have the actual recording of the communication." With insider traders "adopting the methods of common criminals, such as the use of anonymous cellphones," he said, "we have no choice but to treat them as such. To use tough tactics in these circumstances is not being heavyhanded; it is being even-handed."