{"id":71954,"date":"2025-02-11T14:39:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T14:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/?p=71954"},"modified":"2025-02-11T14:39:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T14:39:20","slug":"alabama-man-admits-hacking-sec-x-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/alabama-man-admits-hacking-sec-x-account\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Man Admits Hacking SEC X Account"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An man has admitted hacking the official X account of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric Council Jr, of Alabama, admitted an unauthorized takeover of the account that resulted in a fraudulent post that briefly spiked the value of Bitcoin (BTC) by over $1,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attack took place when hackers gained control of the SEC\u2019s X account and posted a false message under the name of the then-SEC Chairman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message falsely claimed the SEC had approved a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), a decision eagerly awaited by the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This announcement caused Bitcoin\u2019s price to surge by more than $1,000 per coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the SEC quickly regained control of its account and confirmed that the post was fake, the result of a security breach. Following this correction, the value of Bitcoin dropped by more than $2,000.<\/p>\n\n\n

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How the Hack Was Carried Out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Council, 25, of Athens, Alabama<\/strong><\/a>, used a technique known as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swap to gain access to the SEC\u2019s social media account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A SIM swap involves tricking a cell phone carrier into transferring a legitimate user’s phone number to a new SIM card controlled by a hacker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n