Hacker who hijacked SEC’s X account pleads guilty, faces maximum five-year sentence

Summary: Eric Council Jr. has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the hacking of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, which resulted in the posting of false information and significant fluctuations in bitcoin’s price. He faces a maximum sentence of five years, with his sentencing scheduled for May 16. The incident has raised concerns about the security of social media accounts linked to high-stakes financial information, particularly in the realm of cryptocurrency.

Affected: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its social media account on X

Keypoints :

• Eric Council Jr. was arrested for taking over the SEC’s X account and posting misinformation about cryptocurrency ETFs.
• He exploited a SIM swap technique to gain control over the victim’s phone number and access the SEC account.
• The incident resulted in a significant increase and subsequent drop in bitcoin’s price due to the false information posted.
• X has faced ongoing issues with securing high-profile accounts against hacking attempts focused on cryptocurrency.