The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested an Alabama resident for allegedly hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)‘s social media account on X earlier this year.
What Happened: The FBI apprehended Eric Council Jr. on Thursday, accusing him of conspiring with others to gain unauthorized access to the SEC’s X account in January.
Council allegedly used the name of SEC Chair Gary Gensler to falsely announce the approval of a Bitcoin BTC/USD exchange-traded fund (ETF).
This fake announcement caused Bitcoin’s price to surge by over $1,000 before it plummeted more than $2,000 after the SEC regained control of its account and labeled the announcement a security breach. The SEC did not implement multi-factor authentication for its profile at the time.
Council is accused of executing the hack through an unauthorized SIM swap, tricking a cellphone carrier into reassigning a phone number to a SIM card he controlled. This allowed him to access the social media accounts linked to the number and post the premature Bitcoin ETF announcement.
FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough stated, “The defendant allegedly deceived the public by impersonating the victim and making fraudulent statements on behalf of the SEC.”
Council faces charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, with a potential five-year prison sentence.
Why It Matters: The incident highlights the vulnerabilities in social media account security, particularly for high-profile organizations.
In January, the SEC confirmed that its official Twitter (now X) account was compromised, leading to a false tweet about Bitcoin ETF approvals.
This unauthorized post caused significant market disruption, with over $220 million liquidated and more than 70,000 traders affected.
The SEC, in collaboration with the FBI, launched an investigation into the hack, emphasizing that the unauthorized content was not created by the SEC.
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