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In a digital age where a single tweet can shake financial markets, the recent sentencing of Eric Council Jr. serves as a wake-up call. At just 26, the Alabama native orchestrated one of the most disruptive cyberattacks on a federal agency, manipulating Bitcoin prices and shaking investor confidence. His 14-month federal prison sentence marks a significant moment in the crackdown on social engineering-fueled financial fraud.
The SEC Hack: What Happened and Why It Mattered
Eric Council Jr. was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to orchestrating a SIM swap attack that compromised the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The incident took place in January 2024 and resulted in the false announcement of Bitcoin ETF approval. This misleading post, posing as an official statement from the SEC Chairman, briefly drove Bitcoinâs price up by over \$1,000 before crashing by \$2,000 once the truth emerged.
Council, with help from co-conspirators, obtained the personal information of an SEC employee. Using a fake driverâs license and a portable ID card printer, he convinced staff at an AT\&T store to reassign the victimâs phone number to a SIM card under his control. He then inserted this SIM into a newly purchased iPhone and requested a password reset for the SEC’s X account. The reset code was sent to his phone and forwarded to his accomplices, who used it to hijack the account.
The resulting tweet falsely declared the approval of Bitcoin ETFsâa highly anticipated event for crypto markets. The misinformation caused a dramatic surge and subsequent plunge in BTCâs price, highlighting the vulnerability of financial systems to social media-driven fraud.
Council later admitted to receiving approximately \$50,000 in Bitcoin for his involvement. In addition to serving prison time, he must forfeit the illicit funds and is barred from dark web access or committing further identity crimes while on supervised release.
Authorities emphasized the severity of the case. The FBI described the act as a âcalculated criminal maneuverâ aimed at deceiving the public and distorting financial markets. Moreover, the incident exposed the SECâs failure to enforce basic cybersecurity protocols like two-factor authentication on its high-profile social media account.
What Undercode Say:
This cyber incident is a textbook example of how digital vulnerability can undermine both institutional integrity and financial stability in seconds. Council didnât hack a system through brute force or advanced coding â he used basic social engineering tactics paired with poor cybersecurity hygiene to bring down a federal agencyâs digital defense.
What makes this case particularly concerning is how easily it could have been prevented. The SEC, responsible for regulating a multi-trillion-dollar financial ecosystem, failed to secure its X account with two-factor authentication â a basic security step that even small businesses use. That lapse opened the door for Councilâs team to execute a low-tech, high-impact attack.
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The market response revealed the fragility of investor sentiment in crypto. It took minutes for Bitcoin to spike and then plummet, demonstrating how misinformation can cause billions in temporary gains and losses. Such volatility benefits only those on the inside of the fraud â everyone else bears the cost.
Whatâs more troubling is the \$50,000 reward Council received in Bitcoin. It shows thereâs real money flowing into black-hat operations designed to manipulate markets from the shadows. This is cybercrime with economic motivation, not just digital vandalism.
On the legal front, the 14-month sentence may feel light considering the scale of disruption. Yet itâs a precedent â and one meant to scare others who might consider similar attacks. Courts are catching up to the digital age, treating these actions as serious financial crimes, not just tech pranks.
Lastly, this event should be a call-to-action for all federal agencies and major financial institutions. Itâs no longer enough to rely on usernames and passwords. Cybersecurity needs to be baked into every layer of operation, especially when public trust and market stability are at stake.
Fact Checker Results:
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Council admitted guilt and accepted responsibility for the hack
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SEC confirmed lack of 2FA on its X account at the time of breach
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Bitcoin’s market movement matched the timeline of the false ETF announcement đđđ±
Prediction:
With increasing attention on cybersecurity failures within government bodies, we can expect more aggressive implementation of mandatory protections like multi-factor authentication across all federal platforms. Simultaneously, the crypto space will likely see tighter regulation and scrutiny, particularly in the wake of market manipulation efforts tied to digital announcements. Expect agencies like the SEC to invest in AI-driven monitoring tools to prevent such breaches before they can make headlines again.
References:
Reported By: cyberpress.org
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