Alabama man charged with hacking SEC’s X account, causing bitcoin to soar with fake post

In January, a hacker published incorrect news on the SEC’s @SECGov X account revealing the company had actually approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds, causing the cost of the cryptocurrency to spike. The company promptly disavowed and erased the post.

Eric Council Jr., of Athens, Ala., was detained on Thursday early morning about the hack, the US Lawyer’s workplace for the Area of Columbia said in a statement on Thursday. A legal representative for Council did not right away react to ask for comment.

The article on X triggered bitcoin prices to increase by $1,000. Council later received bitcoin repayment for the SIM swap and soon after he drove to Birmingham, Ala., to return the apple iphone, according to the Justice Department.

The event triggered objection of the SEC, the leading United States markets regulator, and renewed issues over safety and security on the social media system X given that it was obtained by billionaire Elon Musk in October 2022.

Council subsequently performed net searches for expressions such as “what are some indications that the FBI wants you” and looked for information about removing accounts preserved on the encrypted messaging application Telegram, prosecutors declare.

Federal prosecutors affirm that Council assisted unrevealed accomplices that had recognized a sufferer with accessibility to the SEC’s X account– called “C.L.” They instructed Council on just how to change the target’s phone to a brand-new device and then utilized the accessibility to publish the phony message on the SEC’s X account.