The FBI arrested the person allegedly liable for hacking the US Securities and Trade Fee’s (SEC) X account and utilizing it to make a faux publish in regards to the approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the US in January.
In line with a press release by the US Legal professional’s Workplace for the District of Columbia, the person’s identification is Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old from Athens, Alabama. The faux announcement resulted in BTC’s worth spiking $1,000, earlier than crashing by $2,000 after the SEC regained management of the account and issued a correction.
Council is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and entry gadget fraud. The FBI revealed that the assault was executed by means of a SIM swap, the place Council and co-conspirators manipulated a sufferer’s cellphone quantity to entry the SEC’s X account.
Assault paid in Bitcoin
In line with the indictment, Council used stolen private info to forge a faux ID doc to conduct the SIM swap, which gave him entry to the SEC’s social media account.
SIM Swap is a social engineering assault vector consisting of a foul actor who makes use of the sufferer’s private info to trick cellular service suppliers into porting the cellphone quantity to a brand new SIM chip.
Thus, the hackers achieve entry to each platform the place the sufferer makes use of its cellular quantity as login credentials. Council allegedly offered the faux ID at a cellular phone supplier retailer in Alabama.
After posting the fraudulent message, Council acquired cost in Bitcoin for his position and rapidly returned the tools used within the assault.
U.S. Legal professional Matthew M. Graves emphasised the significance of holding these accountable who manipulate markets by means of cybercrime. The Justice Division, the FBI, and the SEC’s Workplace of Inspector Common led the investigation.
Millionaire crypto losses
SIM swap assaults are additionally a regular assault vector utilized by hackers to steal crypto. In 2017, investor Michael Terpin misplaced $24 million after a foul actor compromised one in every of his wallets utilizing this methodology.
Furthermore, a gaggle of three people allegedly stole over $400 million in crypto between March 2021 and April 2023 by utilizing SIM swap assaults to realize entry to wallets.
As reported by Ars Technica, the group used the identical methodology allegedly utilized by Council, printing faux ID playing cards and utilizing them to pose as victims in cellular phone service supplier shops.
