Hacker pleads guilty to SIM swap attack on US SEC X account

An Alabama man, Eric Council Jr., pleaded guilty for his role in a January 2024 SIM-swapping attack that allowed conspirators to hijack the SEC's X account and post a fraudulent Bitcoin ETF approval. The fake announcement briefly moved Bitcoin's price; Council used a forged ID to impersonate a victim, received password reset codes via the hijacked phone number, and was paid roughly $50,000 in Bitcoin. He faces sentencing and up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.