The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested an Alabama resident for allegedly hacking the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC)‘s social media account on X earlier this yr.
What Occurred: The FBI apprehended Eric Council Jr. on Thursday, accusing him of conspiring with others to realize unauthorized entry to the SEC’s X account in January.
Council allegedly used the identify of SEC Chair Gary Gensler to falsely announce the approval of a Bitcoin BTC/USD exchange-traded fund (ETF).
This faux announcement induced Bitcoin’s worth to surge by over $1,000 earlier than it plummeted greater than $2,000 after the SEC regained management of its account and labeled the announcement a safety breach. The SEC didn’t implement multi-factor authentication for its profile on the time.
See Additionally: Anthony Scaramucci Tells What Share Of His Wealth Is Tied Up In Bitcoin: ‘I Haven’t Bought Any. Thank God, Knock On Wooden!’
Council is accused of executing the hack by means of an unauthorized SIM swap, tricking a cellphone provider into reassigning a telephone quantity to a SIM card he managed. This allowed him to entry the social media accounts linked to the quantity and publish the untimely Bitcoin ETF announcement.
FBI Felony Investigative Division Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough acknowledged, “The defendant allegedly deceived the general public by impersonating the sufferer and making fraudulent statements on behalf of the SEC.”
Council faces costs of conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and entry machine fraud, with a possible five-year jail sentence.
Why It Issues: The incident highlights the vulnerabilities in social media account safety, significantly for high-profile organizations.
In January, the SEC confirmed that its official Twitter (now X) account was compromised, resulting in a false tweet about Bitcoin ETF approvals.
This unauthorized publish induced important market disruption, with over $220 million liquidated and greater than 70,000 merchants affected.
The SEC, in collaboration with the FBI, launched an investigation into the hack, emphasizing that the unauthorized content material was not created by the SEC.
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