Arrested for hacking SEC

The FBI made an arrest Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old man from Alabama, in connection with the Security and Exchange Commission hack in January 2024 X Account that incorrectly stated that Bitcoin ETFs were approved for trading, which resulted in this Bitcoin‘S BTC/USD Value is expected to increase by $1,000.

The ETFs were finally approved by the SEC the following day.

What happened: The council is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia on Thursday. The indictment alleges that on January 9, the Council and its co-conspirators unauthorizedly seized control of the @SECGov

US Attorney Matthew Graves emphasized the seriousness of the allegations and explained: “The conspirators are said to have used their illegal access to a telephone to manipulate the financial markets.” The effects of the hack were immediate and significant: the price of Bitcoin initially rose by over 1,000 US dollars , before plunging more than $2,000 after the SEC regained control and made a correction.

Also Read: Analyst Predicts Bitcoin Peak in Weeks, $90,000 by Year End; TSMC nears $1 trillion valuation after 8% pre-market rise – top headlines today as US sleeps

The hackers allegedly used a “SIM swap” technique to gain control of the SEC’s account. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri stated: “Council, Jr. unlawfully accessed X’s SEC account by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cell phone number.”

FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist highlighted the broader implications of such cybercrimes, noting: “In this case, the unauthorized actor used SIM swapping to manipulate the global financial market.”

The indictment details the council’s alleged role, including creating a fake ID, obtaining a SIM card linked to the victim’s phone line and passing access codes to co-conspirators. The council is said to have received Bitcoin as payment for its share of the system.

Read more:

Image: Shutterstock.