US SEC Twitter hack suspect Eric Council Jr. may receive a plea deal, which could aid in identifying co-conspirators in the breach.
Federal prosecutors are preparing to offer a plea deal to Eric Council Jr., an Alabama resident accused of participating in the high-profile hacking of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) official X account, previously known as Twitter.
SEC Twitter Hack Suspect Offered Plea Deal
The incident involved social engineering tactics that allowed the posting of a fake message claiming Bitcoin ETFs had been approved, briefly impacting the cryptocurrency market.
Council, who has entered a not guilty plea, faces additional charges, including conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
At a hearing in Washington federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg informed U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson that prosecutors intend to extend a plea offer to Council.
“We will extend a plea,” Rosenberg said, adding, “I have no idea if it will be accepted or not.” If Council agrees to the plea deal, his cooperation could aid authorities in identifying and prosecuting other individuals involved in the hacking scheme.
The prosecution asserted that the Council acted under the direction of others who played a key role in planning and executing the attack.
Allegedly, Council and his co-conspirators targeted an SEC employee and used a technique called SIM swapping to breach the security protecting the SEC’s social media account.
Alleged SIM Swap Attack
Council is accused of employing a SIM swap attack, a cybercrime technique where a scammer transfers a victim’s phone number to a different device.
Prosecutors allege that Council used this method by creating a fake ID and persuading a phone store employee to assign the victim’s phone number to a new device.
This unauthorized access enabled the attackers to take control of the SEC’s official X account.
Once in control, Council and his accomplices allegedly posted a false message on January 9, 2024, stating that the SEC had approved Bitcoin ETFs.
This message was posted a day before the agency officially authorized the ETFs following an extensive legal process.
The misleading post temporarily caused Bitcoin’s price to rise by over $1,000 until the SEC regained control of the account and issued a correction, leading the price to drop by over $2,000.
