{"id":115348,"date":"2024-10-17T23:18:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115348"},"modified":"2024-10-17T23:18:46","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:18:46","slug":"district-of-columbia-fbi-arrests-alabama-man-in-the-january-2024-sec-x-hack-that-spiked-the-value-of-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115348","title":{"rendered":"District of Columbia | FBI Arrests Alabama Man in the January 2024 SEC X Hack that Spiked the Value of Bitcoin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0WASHINGTON \u2013 Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, Alabama, was arrested this morning, in Athens, in connection with a January 2024 unauthorized takeover of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s (SEC) X account, formerly known as Twitter, in which hackers posted a fake message from the SEC Chair that caused the value of bitcoin (BTC) to spike by $1,000. Council is expected to make an initial appearance today in the Northern District of Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Council is charged by indictment, unsealed today, with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The arrest and the indictment were announced by United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office\u2019s Criminal and Cyber Division, and SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0According to the indictment, on January 9, 2024, Council conspired with others to take unauthorized control of the @SECGov X account (sometimes called the SEC\u2019s Twitter account) and transmitted a fake post in the name of the SEC Chair, falsely announcing, in part, \u201cToday the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.\u201d Immediately after the tweet, the price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shortly after the unauthorized post, the SEC regained control over their X account and confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized and the result of a security breach. Following this corrective disclosure, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin. (At the time, the SEC had been deliberating whether to approve exchange traded funds (ETFs) that held bitcoin.)\u00a0An unauthorized actor gained control of the SEC X account through a \u201cSIM swap.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0&#8220;These SIM swapping schemes, where fraudsters trick service providers into giving them control of unsuspecting victims\u2019 phones, can result in devastating financial losses to victims and leaks of sensitive personal and private information,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Graves. \u201cHere, the conspirators allegedly used their illegal access to a phone to manipulate financial markets.\u00a0Through indictments like this, we will hold accountable those who commit these serious crimes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe indictment alleges that Eric Council, Jr. unlawfully accessed the SEC\u2019s account on X by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Argentieri. \u201cCouncil, Jr.\u2019s co-conspirators then allegedly used this unauthorized access to the X account to falsely announce that the SEC had approved listing Bitcoin ETFs, which caused the price of Bitcoin to rise by $1,000 and then fall by $2,000.\u00a0Council\u2019s indictment underscores the Criminal Division\u2019s commitment to countering cybercrime, especially when it threatens the integrity of financial markets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe FBI works to identify, disrupt, and investigate cyber-enabled frauds, including SIM swapping,\u201d said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Geist. \u201cSIM swapping is a method bad actors exploit to illicitly access sensitive information of an individual or company, with the intent of perpetrating a crime. In this case, the unauthorized actor utilized SIM swapping to manipulate the global financial market. The FBI will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners around the country and globe to hold accountable those who break U.S. laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cToday\u2019s arrest demonstrates our commitment to holding bad actors accountable for undermining the integrity of the financial markets,\u201d said SEC Inspector General Jeffrey.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is a chip that stores information identifying and authenticating a cell phone subscriber. When a cell phone carrier reassigns a phone number from one physical phone to another \u2014 such as when a customer purchases a new phone but wants to retain the same number \u2014 the carrier switches the assignment of the cell phone number from the SIM card in the old phone to the SIM card in the new phone, a process sometimes referred to as \u201cporting\u201d a number.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A SIM swap attack refers to the process of fraudulently inducing a carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber or user\u2019s SIM card to a SIM card, and telephone, controlled by a criminal actor. A SIM swap attack allows a criminal actor to defeat multifactor authentication (MFA) and\/or two-step verification process to access a victim\u2019s account so that the criminal actor may steal money and\/or data from the victim or access the victim\u2019s online accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 As described in the indictment, Council, who used online monikers including \u201cRonin,\u201d \u201cEasymunny,\u201d and \u201cAGiantSchnauzer,\u201d received personal identifying information (PII) and an identification card template containing a victim\u2019s name and photo from co-conspirators. Council then used his identification card printer to create a fake ID with the information.\u00a0 Council proceeded to obtain a SIM card linked to the victim\u2019s phone line by presenting the fake ID at a cell phone provider store in Huntsville, Alabama.\u00a0 He then purchased a new iPhone in cash and used the two items to obtained access codes to the @SECGov X account. Council shared those codes with members of the conspiracy, who then accessed the account \u2013 and issued the fraudulent tweet on the @SECGov X account in the name of the SEC Chairman, falsely announcing the SEC\u2019s approval of BTC ETFs. Council received BTC payment for performing the successful SIM swap. Shortly after, Council drove to Birmingham, Alabama to return the iPhone used in the SIM swap for cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0He later conducted internet searches for \u201cSECGOV hack,\u201d \u201ctelegram sim swap,\u201d \u201chow can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,\u201d and \u201cWhat are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, the SEC-Office of Inspector General, the\u00a0U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia, and the Department of Justice\u2019s Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit (MIMF) and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Significant assistance was provided by the FBI\u2019s Birmingham Field Office.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, and DOJ Trial Attorneys Ashley Pungello and Paul Zebb from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Lauren Archer from the Fraud Section. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant United States Attorney John Hundscheid from the Northern District of Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 For more information on SIM Swapping, go to: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ic3.gov\/PSA\/2024\/PSA240411\">https:\/\/www.ic3.gov\/PSA\/2024\/PSA240411<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/fbi-arrests-alabama-man-january-2024-sec-x-hack-spiked-value-bitcoin\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0WASHINGTON \u2013 Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, Alabama, was arrested this morning, in Athens, in connection with a January 2024 unauthorized takeover of the U.S. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115348\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}