Federal prosecutors reportedly plan to propose a plea deal to the man who allegedly hacked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) social media platform X account earlier this year.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) says Alabama native Eric Council Jr., 25, allegedly conspired with others to take unauthorized control of the SEC’s X account and prematurely announced the approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the US.
At a hearing on Friday, he pled not guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, but federal prosecutors also told the judge they planned to offer a plea deal to Council, which could involve cooperation against his unnamed co-conspirators who were alleged to be the masterminds behind the scene, Bloomberg reports.
The fake ETF announcement, posted in January, caused the price of Bitcoin to increase by more than $1,000 and then drop by more than $2,000 after the SEC regained control of its X account and declared the statement to be unauthorized and the result of a security breach. The regulator legitimately greenlit spot Bitcoin ETFs soon after the security incident.
The DOJ alleges Council carried out the hack through an unauthorized SIM swap, which involves fraudulently persuading a cellphone carrier to reassign another person’s contact number to a SIM card controlled by a bad actor. The Alabama man allegedly used the stolen identity of a person who had access to the SEC’s X account.
X said after the hack that the regulator failed to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) for its profile, despite the fact that SEC Chair Gary Gensler publicly encouraged investors last year to secure their financial accounts with that very feature.
Don't Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox
Check Price Action
Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram
Surf The Daily Hodl Mix
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.
Generated Image: Midjourney
The post Federal Prosecutors To Propose Plea Deal to Man Who Allegedly Cracked SEC’s X Account in January: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
