Federal Authorities Confirm that a 25-Year-Old Hacker Using the Alias ‘AGiantSchnauzer’ Hacked into the SEC’s X Account and Received Payment in Bitcoin
An Alabama resident named Eric Council Jr., aged 25, was arrested on Thursday morning for his involvement in the unauthorized takeover of the Security and Exchange Commission’s X account in January. This incident caused the value of Bitcoin to spike by $1,000, as reported by the Justice Department.
The hack occurred on January 9, just a day before the SEC’s anticipated approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. A complaint filed in federal court in Washington, DC, stated that hackers utilized the compromised account to falsely claim that the approval had been granted. However, SEC Chair Gary Gensler quickly clarified on his personal account that the announcement was unauthorized and untrue.
Gensler wrote on X, “The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.” The fraudulent post was removed 25 minutes later, but the market had already been impacted. Investors rushed to buy Bitcoin, causing the price to rise by $1,000. Once the error was corrected, the price dropped by $2,000, according to the indictment.
Eric Council, known online as “Ronin,” “AGiantSchnauzer,” and @Easymunny, has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The charges were announced by United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves and others involved in the investigation. The indictment alleges that Council committed these crimes in an attempt to manipulate Bitcoin’s price.
Council and his accomplices reportedly gained access to the account through a “SIM swap” method, as mentioned in the indictment. This attack involves fraudulently persuading a carrier to transfer a cell phone number to a SIM card controlled by criminals, enabling them to bypass multi-factor authentication.
Council and his associates impersonated someone who had access to the account by creating a fake identification document and taking over their cell phone number. The @SECGov X account was linked to this phone number, allowing the hackers to post on it.
During the investigation, federal agents discovered that Council was paid in Bitcoin for executing the SIM swap. He had also searched on his personal computer for terms like “SECGOV hack,” “federal identity theft statute,” and “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI.”
FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Geist stated in a statement, “In this case, the unauthorized actor allegedly utilized SIM swapping to manipulate the global financial market. The FBI will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who break U.S. laws.”
If convicted, Council could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
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