FBI and Homeland Security Investigate Hack of SEC’s X Account

It has been reported the fact that the FBI and Homeland Security are investigating the hack that the SEC has recently seen on the social media platform X. Check out the latest reports about this below.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has issued a statement regarding the recent hack of the regulatory body’s X account.

In his statement, Gensler revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security are now investigating the incident. The hack took place last Tuesday, and the account was compromised.

The hacker made a false post about spot market Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) being approved.

However, Gensler clarified that there is no evidence to suggest that the hacker was able to gain access to the SEC’s systems, data, devices, or any other social media accounts.

“The unauthorized party made one post at 4:11 pm ET purporting to announce the Commission’s approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, as well as a second post approximately two minutes later that said ‘BTC.’

An unauthorized party accessed the X account and deleted the second post while liking two posts by non-SEC accounts using the SECGov account.

The exploiter’s access to the X account was terminated around 30 minutes to an hour after the compromise was detected, according to Gensler.

Late last week, US Senators, such as Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, and Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, wrote a letter to the SEC asking for an explanation of how someone could bypass its cybersecurity measures. Gensler mentioned that many law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the matter.

“Staff are coordinating with appropriate law enforcement and federal oversight entities, including the SEC’s Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, amongst others, in their investigations.

The agency will provide updates on the incident as appropriate.”