Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:Feds Attack 'AGiantSchnauzer' Over the Bitcoin ETF SEC Twitter Hack Not Rated 0.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Friday, October 18, 2024

Feds Attack 'AGiantSchnauzer' Over the Bitcoin ETF SEC Twitter Hack

News summary by MFWire's editors

The feds are accusing a 25-year-old Yellowhammer State man of helping hack the SEC's X (Twitter) account as part of a conspiracy that also involved cryptocurrency prices and the ETF approval process.

Yesterday, federal prosecutors and law enforcement personnel revealed an eight-page indictment against Eric Council Jr., alleging that Council used a "SIM swap" to help co-conspirators temporarily take control of the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to falsely announce that the regulatory agency had given its blessing to spot bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs). Prosecutors also confirms that the FBI arrested Council yesterday morning in Athens, Alabama, and Council is charged with conspiracy to commit identity theft and "access device fraud."

On January 9, 2024, someone used the @SECGov account on X to tweet, "Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges." Yet shortly thereafter, SEC staff tweeted that the prior announcement was the unauthorized result of a security breach. (This all happened one day before the SEC actually gave its blessing to spot bitcoin ETPs, on January 10, and two days before the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETPs debuted, on January 11.)

Prosecutors allege that Council (who, per the indictment, also goes by the handles "@Easymunny," "Ronin," and "AGiantSchnauzer") was sent "personal identifying information" (PII) about someone with access to the SEC's X account, and that Council then created a fake ID, claimed he was an FBI employee with a broken phone to get a new SIM card tied to the target, put that SIM card into a new iPhone, used the phone to reset the login information for the SEC's X account, and sent the new login info to someone else, for all which Council was allegedly paid bitcoin "and other virtual currencies." Afterwards, Council allegedly returned the iPhone for cash and used his computer to look up things like "what are some signs that the FBI is after you," "how long does it take to delete telegram account," "telegram sim swap," "federal identity theft statute," and "SECGOV hack."

The indictment does not name Council's co-conspirators, who allegedly paid him, sent him the necessary PII, and received and used the SECGOV login info to make the fake post. The indictment also does not reveal whose phone was allegedly spoofed in the scheme; that person is identified only as "victim C.L." (Perhaps C.L. is an SEC staffer or, given Council's alleged claims when acquiring a SIM card, perhaps C.L. is an FBI agent or employee.)

Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, filed the indictment against Council in the United States District Court For the District of Columbia. He notes that "SIM swapping schemes ... can result in devastating financial losses to victims and leaks of sensitive personal and private information." Yet this time, the goal of the alleged conspirators appears to have been different.

"Here, the conspirators allegedly used their illegal access to a phone to manipulate financial markets," Graves states.

"In this case, the unauthorized actor allegedly utilized SIM swapping to manipulate the global financial market," states David Geist, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division.

"The indictment alleges that Eric Council, Jr. unlawfully accessed the SEC's account on X by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number," states Nicole Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Justice Department. "Council, Jr.'s 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."

"Today's arrest demonstrates our commitment to holding bad actors accountable for undermining the integrity of the financial markets," states Deborah Jeffrey, Inspector General of the SEC.

"Council's indictment underscores the Criminal Division's commitment to countering cybercrime, especially when it threatens the integrity of financial markets," Argentieri states.

The case has been assigned to Amy Berman Jackson, a Senior United States District Judge in D.C. The prosectors are: Kevin Rosenberg, an Assistant United States Attorney; Ashley Pungello and Paul Zebb, trial attorneys from the the DoJ's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Sectionn (CCIPS); and Lauren Archer, a DoJ trial attorney from the Fraud Section. John Hundscheid, AUSA from the Northern District of Alabama, also helped out with the case.

Investigators involved in the case include: the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division; the SEC-Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.; the DoJ's Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit (MIMF); CCIPS; and the FBI's Birmingham Field Office. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

0.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2024: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


  1. MFDF webinar - Visually Mapping Board Composition: Skills Matrices in Fund Board Rooms, December 18
  2. IMEA webinar - Driving Equity: The FARE Journey and Its Impact on Financial Services, December 19
  3. MFDF webinar - 2024 Fair Valuation Pricing Survey: Building and Strengthening the Valuation Operating Model, January 7, 2025
  4. MFDF webinar - 15(c) White Paper Webinar Series: Part 2 – Board Processes, January 9, 2025
  5. MFDF webinar - AI and Fund Compliance, January 21, 2025
  6. MFDF In Focus - In Focus: Small Boards' Use of Skills Matrices, January 22, 2025
  7. FSI OneVoice 2025, January 27 - 29, 2025
  8. MFDF 2025 Directors' Institute, January 27 - 29, 2025
  9. 2025 ICI Innovate, February 3 - 5, 2025
  10. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, February 10, 2025
  11. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, February 11, 2025
  12. Expect Miracles In Manhattan 2025, February 27, 2025
  13. Citywire Scottsdale CIO Summit 2025, February 27 - 28, 2025
  14. Nicsa 2025 Strategic Leadership Forum, March 5 - 7, 2025
  15. MFDF 2025 Fund Governance & Regulatory Insights Conference, March 6 - 7, 2025
  16. Citywire Pro Buyer New York Due Diligence Retreat 2025, March 6 - 7, 2025
  17. 2025 MMI Summit, March 27 - 28, 2025
  18. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, April 2, 2025
  19. Envestnet Elevate 2025, April 9 - 10, 2025
  20. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, April 15, 2025
  21. The 36th Sub-Advised Funds Forum, April 29 - 30, 2025
  22. Expect Miracles 6th Annual Distance Challenge, May 13 - 20, 2025
  23. Morningstar Investment Conference 2025, June 25 - 26, 2025
  24. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, July 9, 2025




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2024
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use