The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has apprehended Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, Alabama in relation to the January 2024 unauthorized entry of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) X account, previously Twitter.
The arrest comes after Council was accused of taking part in a hacking spree that noticed a faux submit from the US SEC Chair’s account which elevated the worth of Bitcoin for a while.
US SEC Twitter Hacker Responsible For Fake Bitcoin ETF Arrested
As per the indictment, Eric Council engaged within the conspiracy to imagine management of the US SEC’s X account on January 9, 2024.
The kind of fraud carried out was a SIM swap assault, which includes redirecting a telephone quantity belonging to another person to a tool owned by the fraudster. With this technique, Council and his accomplices gained entry to the SEC’s account.
Once they gained management, they despatched a faux message from the SEC Chairman saying the company had allowed Bitcoin ETFs to be listed on all of the nationwide securities exchanges. This announcement led to an increase within the worth of Bitcoin by greater than $1000. However, after the US SEC regained management of its account and made a correction, the worth of Bitcoin dropped by greater than $2,000.
Allegations of Conspiracy and Identity Theft
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Eric Council used private figuring out info (PII) from a sufferer and utilized for a SIM card that’s related to this individual’s telephone line. Council allegedly received the PII and an identification card template from his co-conspirators, who had been additionally concerned within the offense.
He then used a faux ID to do the SIM swap at a cell phone firm in Huntsville, Alabama.
Once Council was in a position to acquire management of the sufferer’s telephone quantity, he purchased a brand new iPhone and used it to signal into the SEC’s X account. Eric Council then supplied the account entry codes to different individuals who put up the misleading tweet on the account. The announcement revealed that the Council obtained fee in Bitcoin for his half within the scheme.
Investigations and Cybercrime Charges
Council is being accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry gadget fraud. He is scheduled to enter a plea for the primary time within the Northern District of Alabama. The U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves additionally famous that SIM swapping is a really harmful crime that may convey important monetary losses and compromise of delicate knowledge.
Council’s on-line exercise additionally attracted consideration, as he looked for phrases resembling “SECGOV hack” and “how can I know for sure if the FBI is investigating me.” Investigators imagine these searches point out that Council was conscious of potential regulation enforcement scrutiny. Authorities are persevering with to research different people concerned within the conspiracy.
Meanwhile, this case comes amidst growing considerations over cybercrime and cryptocurrency-related fraud. In one other main case, Ilya Lichtenstein, mastermind of the $6 billion Bitfinex crypto exchange hack, faces as much as 5 years in jail after pleading responsible to a money-laundering conspiracy
Kelvin Munene Murithi
Kelvin is a distinguished author with experience in crypto and finance, holding a Bachelor’s diploma in Actuarial Science. Known for his incisive evaluation and insightful content material, he possesses a powerful command of English and excels in conducting thorough analysis and delivering well timed cryptocurrency market updates.
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