WASHINGTON (AP) – An Alabama man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of being involved. january hack The Department of Justice has announced fraudulent activity on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's social media accounts that caused the price of Bitcoin to skyrocket.
Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, is charged with aiding and abetting the break-in of SEC accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, allowing hackers to prematurely announce approvals. are. The long-awaited Bitcoin exchange traded fund.
Bitcoin prices soared more than $1,000 at one point after a post claimed, “SEC has approved listing of #Bitcoin ETF on all registered national stock exchanges.”
However, shortly after the initial post was published, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said his personal SEC account had been compromised. “The SEC does not authorize the listing and trading of physical Bitcoin exchange-traded products,” Gensler wrote, calling the post unauthorized without elaborating.
Authorities say the council used a fake ID to impersonate someone with access to the SEC's X account and persuade a cell phone retailer to hand over a SIM card linked to that person's phone. He reportedly performed a SIM swap. According to the Justice Department, the council was able to take over this person's cell phone number and obtain an access code to the SEC's X account, which it then shared with others who compromised the account and sent posts. That's what it means.
Prosecutors said that after Council returned the iPhone he had used for the SIM swap, he searched online for questions such as “Even if I haven't been contacted by the police or the FBI, what are the signs I'm under investigation?'' .
An email seeking comment was sent Thursday to attorneys for the council, which is facing charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud in federal court in Washington.
The price of Bitcoin fluctuated from about $46,730 to just under $48,000 after the fraudulent posting occurred on January 9, but fell to about $45,200 after the SEC denial. SEC officially approved The next day, the first exchange-traded fund to hold Bitcoin.
