Oct 17, 2024
An Alabama man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account earlier this year, posting false information about cryptocurrency that caused the price of Bitcoin to spike by more than $1,000, according to the Justice Department.
Key Facts
- Eric Council Jr., 25, was arrested by the FBI and charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, the DOJ announced.
- Prosecutors allege Council conspired with others to hack the SEC’s X account on January 9, falsely claiming the agency had approved Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which briefly pushed the price of Bitcoin up by more than $1,000.
- The SEC regained control of its account shortly afterward, causing Bitcoin’s price to drop by $2,000. (The SEC later approved Bitcoin ETFs.)
- Council allegedly accessed the SEC’s social media account through a “SIM swap”—a scheme where a phone number is fraudulently reassigned to another device—while impersonating the account holder, prosecutors claim.
- A lawyer for Council has not yet responded to requests for comment.
What To Watch For
Council is expected to make his first court appearance later on Thursday. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to the DOJ.
Key Background
In January, the SEC confirmed its X account had been hacked to prematurely announce Bitcoin ETF approvals. After consulting with its telecom provider, the agency determined the hack was caused by a SIM swap attack. The breach did not extend to SEC systems, data, or other social media accounts. The SEC noted that multi-factor authentication had been removed from the account months before the hack but was reinstated after the incident.