• Eric Council Jr. has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry system fraud
• In January, the SEC’s X account was hacked with a submit claiming that the company had accredited the primary Bitcoin ETF
• A day later, the SEC accredited the primary Bitcoin ETFs

A 25-year-old man from Athens, Alabama has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly hacking the US Securities and Trade Fee’s (SEC) X account.

In keeping with an announcement from the US Legal professional’s Workplace, District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr. is accused of being a part of a gaggle that falsely posted a message on the SEC’s X account claiming they’d accredited the primary Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Council has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry system fraud.

Within the identify of Gary Gensler, the SEC’s Chair, the group posted a message on January 9 stating:

“Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.”

Shortly after the tweet was posted, the price of Bitcoin rose by $1,000.

Realizing the SEC account had been compromised, Gensler was fast to disclaim the information, saying that the company hadn’t “approved the listing.” Following that information, the price of Bitcoin dropped by $2,000.

The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not accredited the itemizing and buying and selling of spot bitcoin exchange-traded merchandise.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024

Notably, a day later, the SEC accredited the primary Bitcoin ETF.

SIM swapping

Authorities state that Council used a “SIM swapping” approach to achieve management of the SEC’s account.

Nicole Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Legal professional Basic of the Justice Division’s Felony Division, mentioned that Council allegedly “accessed the SEC’s account on X by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number.”

“These SIM swapping schemes, where fraudsters trick service providers into giving them control of unsuspecting victims’ phones, can result in devastating financial losses to victims and leaks of sensitive personal and private information,” mentioned United States Legal professional Matthew Graves.

In keeping with the assertion, Council, who additionally glided by the names “Ronin,” “Easymunny,” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” is claimed to have acquired the sufferer’s identify and photograph and a template containing the sufferer’s particulars from co-conspirators. He then used this data to create a faux ID.

Council then traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to acquire a brand new SIM card linked to the sufferer’s telephone and acquired a brand new iPhone in money. With the 2, he obtained entry codes to the SEC’s X account. These codes had been shared with the co-conspirators who issued the faux tweet.

Council is claimed to have acquired fee in Bitcoin for finishing the SIM swap. He then drove to Birmingham, Alabama to return the iPhone for money. Aware of his actions, the FBI mentioned that Council carried out web searches, together with “what are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement?”