A 25-year-old man from Athens, Alabama, has been arrested by the FBI for hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X (formerly Twitter) account in January 2024. The hacker, Eric Council Jr., is accused of posting a fake announcement claiming the SEC had approved the first U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), causing a temporary surge in Bitcoin’s price.

Federal authorities reported that Council Jr., along with co-conspirators, used a "SIM swap" attack to hijack the SEC’s X account. This technique allowed them to bypass two-factor authentication by taking control of a victim’s phone number. On January 9, they posted the fraudulent Bitcoin ETF announcement, which led to Bitcoin’s price spiking by over $1,000 before SEC Chair Gary Gensler quickly denied the news, clarifying the account had been compromised.

Council Jr. allegedly used fake IDs and SIM cards to access the SEC account, receiving payment in Bitcoin for his part in the scheme. He later returned the iPhone he had used to execute the hack for cash. Investigations revealed he searched online for terms like “SECGOV hack” and “how to know if I’m being investigated by the FBI.”

This cyberattack briefly sent shockwaves through the market, highlighting vulnerabilities in financial systems and digital security. Just one day after the hack, the SEC officially approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs, now managing over $63.5 billion in assets.

The arrest of Council Jr. underscores the growing threat of cybercrimes targeting financial institutions and the FBI’s efforts to crack down on market manipulation.