The SEC has revealed that its social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was recently hacked through a SIM swapping technique. The attack occurred after the removal of multi-factor authentication, which was only restored after the incident. The hackers gained access to the account and falsely announced the approval of exchange-traded products tracking bitcoin, causing a temporary surge in the cryptocurrency’s price. The SEC granted approval to the products the following day. SIM swapping involves attackers taking control of a phone number by reassigning it to a new device. The incident is being probed by various agencies, including the SEC’s Office of Inspector General and Division of Enforcement, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
