On Thursday, federal officials arrested a guy in Alabama for hacking the SEC X account earlier this year
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr. was indicted in connection with the SEC X account hack on January 9.
The account published a post that falsely advertised that the Commission had approved Bitcoin ETFs for listing on securities exchanges in the country. This post caused a $1,000 increase in the price of Bitcoin.
The indictment against Council alleges that he collaborated with other unidentified co-conspirators to execute a SIM transfer on the phone account of an individual who had access to the SEC X account and was only identified as “C.L.” Authorities claimed that Council received compensation for conducting SIM swaps, including the one that resulted in the SEC X account breach.
On January 9, a co-conspirator forwarded the Council instructions on how to SIM switch the individual’s phone with access to the SEC account on X, as well as the individual’s personally identifying information.
Council subsequently visited an AT&T store with a self-designed and printed fake identity card for C.L., claiming to be an FBI agent who had damaged his phone and required a new SIM card.
The indictment alleges that the Council purchased a new iPhone to facilitate the SIM exchange. Subsequently, the Council utilized the phone to obtain a reset code for the @SECGov account on X.
This code was then transmitted to a co-conspirator, who accessed the @SECGov account and published the false post. The indictment alleges that Council returned the iPhone to Birmingham, Alabama, for cash then.
In the indictment, prosecutors stated that Council conducted numerous Google searches, including “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if the FBI is investigating me,” “what are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted,” and “what are some signs that the FBI is after you.”
Council was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.