The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced the arrest of the man behind the hack of the X account for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which spiked BTC’s price earlier this year.
According to the FBI, the bad actor, Eric Council Jr., conspired with others to hack the SEC X account in January 2024. He subsequently masqueraded as the SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, and posted a fake spot Bitcoin ETF approval.
“Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges,” the post stated.
At that time, the SEC was still considering the approval or disapproval of the BTC-backed investment products.
The FBI said the post helped raise the price of BTC by $1,000. Shortly after the post, the SEC regained control of the account and notified users of the attack. After regaining control, the FBI said that Bitcoin fell sharply by $2,000.
A SIM Swap Method
Law enforcement revealed that the man successfully executed the hack using a SIM Swap exploit.
In SIM Swap attacks, criminals use fake IDs of victims to convince network providers to transfer the victim’s mobile phone account to a separate SIM card they control. The aim is to use the SIM to generate authentication codes that will allow them to gain access to the victim’s online account.
After successfully carrying out the hack, Council went to Google and searched:
“SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,” and “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them.”
These search queries mean he was looking for ways to escape law enforcement. Council received Bitcoin payment for successfully performing the SIM swap. Shortly after, he relocated to Birmingham.
According to the FBI, he will initially appear in the Northern District of Alabama today.
Commenting on the development, SEC Inspector General Jeffrey said:
“Today’s arrest demonstrates our commitment to holding bad actors accountable for undermining the integrity of the financial markets.”
Council’s Indictment
Council’s indictment was unsealed on Thursday, October 17, 2024. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
Several X account hacks have occurred in the sector, most of which were subsequently used to promote a fake token launch or phishing scam.
In June, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s X account was hacked to promote a crypto scam that raked $300 million in just 30 minutes.
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