"Why doesn't every hacker do this to make extra money? Is it within the grasp of anybody who can program to automate trading like this?" I have flirted with HF

"Why doesn't every hacker do this to make extra money? Is it within the grasp of anybody who can program to automate trading like this?" I have flirted with HFT in a hobby-like manner and it isn't the programming that will get you the money, it is the domain specific knowledge coupled with the programming. On top of that, there are quite a few risks and potential to lose a lot of money.