The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has become involved in an investigation into a security breach of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account, according to a statement from an SEC spokesperson. The spokesperson clarified that the FBI is not investigating the SEC itself, but is instead collaborating with the SEC on the investigation.
On January 9, an unidentified party gained access to the SEC’s X profile and falsely announced the approval of multiple spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This announcement was later denied by SEC chair Gary Gensler and the SEC itself, and the false post was promptly removed from the X profile.
It was later revealed that the breach occurred when an unknown individual gained control of a linked phone number to access the SEC’s account. This method of breach has been described by other sources as a SIM swap, which aligns with the description provided by X.
The SEC spokesperson also addressed speculation about the false announcement, stating that it was not “drafted or created” by the SEC. This statement refutes the theory that the SEC had prepared the message in anticipation of ETF approvals and accidentally published it early.
Despite the security breach and subsequent retraction of the false announcement, the SEC did approve various spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10. A separate SEC filing also revealed that spot Bitcoin ETFs from eleven applicants received approval. The SEC was specifically required to decide on Ark Invest’s application on January 10, but it also approved similar proposals.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Gary Gensler |
| Companies | U.S. Security and Exchange Commission, SEC’s Office of the Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ark Invest |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
