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Hacker of SEC's X Account Sentenced

Council carried out SIM attacks in exchange for money.


An Alabama man has been given the maximum five-year prison sentence for taking over the X account of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Eric Council Jr. pleaded guilty to infiltrating the SEC's X account via SIM swapping conducted with the help of his co-conspirators, according to The Record.

He proceeded to post fraudulent information regarding the planned approval of cryptocurrency-containing exchange-traded funds, which resulted in a Bitcoin price spike, according to the Justice Department.

Such a development comes amid the persistent targeting of high-profile X accounts in cryptocurrency takeover scams. 



Dan Raywood
Dan Raywood Senior Editor SC Media UK

Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.

He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.

Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.

Dan Raywood
Dan Raywood Senior Editor SC Media UK

Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.

He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.

Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.

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