The alleged hacker of the SEC account has been granted permission to travel for vacation
AI Overview
According to Cointelegraph, Eric Council Jr., accused of hacking the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January, has been granted permission to travel for the holidays. A recent court statement from December 13 by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia allows Council to travel to North Carolina with a third-party custodian from December 23 to 29. The judge ruled that Council must provide Pretrial Services with detailed information about his itinerary and accommodations no later than two business days before the trip.
Council has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the hacking of the SEC's X account on January 9, where he allegedly posted a false message claiming that he had approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This message, which included a fabricated quote from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, caused a temporary market disruption before the SEC officially approved the investment instruments about 24 hours later. The misleading post has since been removed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Council in Alabama on October 17. He is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, to which he has pleaded not guilty. As of now, no court date has been set, but the judge indicated that a plea agreement may be filed by January 17, which would require Council's personal appearance in court.
Prior to the alleged hacking incident in the crypto industry, there was significant anticipation regarding the SEC's decision to allow U.S. exchanges to list spot ETFs tied to Bitcoin. Authorities claim that Council was part of a group that conducted a SIM swap attack to gain control over the SEC's X account, leading to a temporary price surge of Bitcoin by more than $1,000. After the hack, it was reported that the SEC's X account lacked two-factor authentication. The commission did not report any issues with its social media accounts in May when it approved Ether (ETH) spot exchange products.
