On October 17, US authorities arrested a 25-year-old man on charges of hacking into the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) social network account X earlier this year in a plot to manipulate the price of bitcoin.
Eric Council Jr., of Athens, Alabama, is accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, according to authorities. Specifically, Council assisted unnamed co-conspirators in hacking a person with access to the SEC's X account - referred to as "C.L." They instructed Council to transfer the victim's SIM card to a new device and then use that access to post fake messages to the SEC account.
The incident began in January when hackers posted a false message on the SEC’s social media account announcing that the agency had approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds, causing the price of the cryptocurrency to spike by $1,000. The agency quickly denied the story and deleted the post.
The incident has sparked criticism of the SEC, the top US market regulator, and raised new concerns about the social network's security.
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