Federal Prosecutors Consider Plea Deal for Hacker

Federal prosecutors are preparing a plea deal for Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old from Alabama charged with hacking the SEC's X account and posting a false tweet about the approval of Bitcoin ETFs. During a recent court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg indicated that Council's cooperation could help identify other suspects involved in the scheme, although it remains uncertain whether he will accept the plea. Council has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, with allegations that he used a SIM swap attack to gain access to the SEC employee's phone. The unauthorized tweet led to significant market fluctuations, including a $1,000 spike in Bitcoin's price before the SEC clarified the information was false. The SEC is now implementing strengthened security measures, including re-enabling multi-factor authentication for its social media accounts. Council's case reflects broader efforts by law enforcement to combat cybercrime and strengthen accountability within the cryptocurrency market.