Hacker pleads guilty of taking over SEC’s X account to post fake Bitcoin news

Hacker Eric Council Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud after he took over the SEC’s X account in January 2024. Once Council gained access to the account, his unnamed co-conspirators posted a doctored image, message, and fake quote by then SEC Chairman Gary Gensler saying Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETC) have been approved, which caused the currency’s value to spike more than $1,000.

The 25-year-old Alabama resident had used a SIM-swapping attack to move a phone number associated with the @SEC account to the SIM card in an iPhone he had purchased. After others obtained the personal information of a person with access to the account, Council printed off a fake ID and used it to get AT&T to give him control of their number so that he could have the account’s recovery codes sent to his own phone. The co-conspirators paid Council in Bitcoin for his role in the scheme.

Investigators found after Council’s arrest that he’d made some choice searches, including: “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them.”

Council is scheduled for sentencing on May 16th and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.