US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dealing with a huge legal pressure pushed by the key crypto players. However, recently US SEC’s X (formerly Twitter) account hack and spot Bitcoin ETF approval tweet have added up into the complications.
US SEC under axe?
Eleanor Terrett, a journalist for Fox Business, reported that the US SEC is under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General following a hack on its @SECGov X.com account. The incident that occurred on January 9, 2024, has raised concerns about the security of the SEC’s internal systems.
She added that the Inspector General had previously highlighted the importance of ensuring compliance with internal system protocols in two reports. The first one comes from 2022, while the other was reported in 2023. It is important to note that the 2023 report specifically asked for information on the SEC’s implementation of multi-factor authentication.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has issued a statement addressing the unauthorized access to the @SECGov X.com account. According to Gensler, an unauthorized party gained access by taking control of the associated phone number. The intruder made a post at 4:11 pm ET announcing the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, along with a subsequent post saying “$BTC.” While the second post was deleted, the first remained. The unauthorized party also liked two posts from non-SEC accounts.
Watchdog’s take over hack
In the post, Gensler clarified that, as of the current assessment, there is no evidence that the unauthorized party accessed SEC systems, data, devices, or other social media accounts. The Office of Public Affairs promptly informed the public of the compromise on the @garygensler X.com account and took measures to rectify the situation.
Gensler stated that the SEC is actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies over this matter. This includes the Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
In response to the growing concerns, the SEC’s 2023 Budget Justification outlined plans to hire additional personnel with expertise in cloud computing.
The hacking incident sparked rumors about the broader implications for the agency, investors, and the marketplace. However, the watchdog had highlighted the concerns about the security of its social media accounts. It plans to assess whether additional remedial measures are necessary or not to trust its commitment to cybersecurity obligations.
