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He is accused of conspiring to commit aggravated identification theft and entry system fraud.
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That day, bitcoin skyrocketed and rose $1,000, however then corrected and misplaced $2,000.
The FBI right now announced the arrest of Eric Council Jr., 25, in Athens, Alabama, for his alleged position in hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) account at X, recognized previously as Twitter. This incident, which occurred in January 2024, led to a false announcement that induced a USD 1,000 improve within the worth of bitcoin (BTC).
Council faces costs of conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and entry system fraud. The indictment particulars that on January 9, 2024, Council, together with co-conspirators, took management of the @SECGov account on X and posted a false message on behalf of the company’s president, Gary Gensler, claiming approval of an exchange-traded fund. on the bitcoin exchange (ETF).
This false announcement induced a direct rise within the value of BTC. The SEC rapidly regained management of his account and denied the data, as reported by CriptoNoticias, which led to a subsequent drop of greater than USD 2,000 per bitcoin.
The methodology used for the hack was a SIM swap, a way the place attackers handle to reassign a sufferer’s cellphone quantity to a tool they management. This permits them move two-step authentication, thus accessing delicate accounts.
According to the accusation, Council used stolen private info to create a fake IDwith which he obtained a brand new SIM card and an iPhone, used to entry the SEC account at X.
FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist commented on the case: “The FBI works to identify, disrupt and investigate cyber fraud, including SIM swapping. “This method is exploited by criminals to access confidential information and perpetrate crimes like the one Council attempted, manipulating the global financial market.”
The false announcement not solely affected the cryptocurrency market, but additionally highlighted the vulnerability of the official accounts of presidency entities on social networks.
It is anticipated that Council Makes Initial Appearance Today within the Northern District of Alabama. According to the FBI, the prosecution is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg and Justice Department trial attorneys Ashley Pungello and Paul Zebb of the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, and Lauren Archer of the Fraud Section.
This article was created utilizing synthetic intelligence and edited by a human Editor.
