Individual Charged for Hacking SEC's X Account

The US Department of Justice ("DOJ") charged an individual for hacking the SEC's social media account on X and for posting fraudulent statements. 

According to the indictment, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the defendant allegedly conspired with others to take control of the SEC's X account and, once obtained, falsely announced, under the name of SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the regulator's approval of ETFs on bitcoin. The DOJ alleged that the fraudulent post caused a significant spike in bitcoin prices, which increased by over $1,000 per bitcoin before dropping more than $2,000 when the SEC reported the post was unauthorized.

The DOJ alleged that the scheme involved use of a Subscriber Identity Module ("SIM") swap, a fraudulent tactic used to hijack a victim's phone number. DOJ alleged that the defendant and his co-conspirators created a fake identification document which was used to take over an SEC phone account. The DOJ alleged that the conspirators then accessed the SEC's X account through this compromised phone number to make the false announcement in order to exploit the financial markets for personal gain. 

The Grand Jury charged the individual with "conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft" and "access device fraud."