FBI arrests man behind SEC hack

In January, the accused hacked the X account of the U.S. stock market watchdog SEC and falsely announced the approval of Bitcoin ETFs.

The FBI arrested an Alabama man on the evening of Oct. 17 in connection with the hacking attack on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This was announced in a statement of the prosecutor's office.

25-year-old Eric Council Jr. is suspected of having gained access to the SEC's X account in January. He posted a false message there about the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which led to a $1,000 rise in the BTC exchange rate.

The suspect must now answer to "conspiracy to commit serious identity theft and device fraud." The prosecution stated that Council may have been working with others to gain control of the SEC's X account.

Apparently, through a so-called "SIM swap" attack to gain access to the SEC's account. His accomplices provided him with personal information, including a victim's name and photo. This allowed him to verify himself with the victim's mobile carrier and obtain access codes to the X account.

According to the prosecution, the suspect was not very professional in his approach. Some of his searches included, for example, "How can I be sure I'm being investigated by the FBI?" and "What are the signs that you are being investigated by investigative agencies such as the FBI, even if they have not contacted you?"

The false announcement of the Bitcoin ETF caused sharp price swings in the main crypto currency a day before the actual approval by the SEC followed. The industry accused the SEC of gross negligence in securing their accounts.

A simple two-step verification could reportedly have been sufficient to prevent such a relatively simple attack.