Eric Council Jr. Sentenced: SEC X Account Hacking Leads to Market Manipulation

Eric Council Jr., 25, from Alabama, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for hacking the SEC’s X account in a SIM swap attack targeting Bitcoin markets. This action resulted in market manipulation and highlighted cybersecurity vulnerabilities within financial institutions. The attack involved exploiting phone service lines and high-value accounts to falsely announce Bitcoin ETF approvals, causing rapid price surges. Council’s sentence underscores the severity of cyber attacks on financial markets and their impact on stability.