US SEC blames 'SIM swapping' for its X account hack

Wall Street’s top regulator was the victim of “SIM swapping,” a technique internet fraudsters use to seize control of telephone lines, when its account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, was hacked earlier this month.

Wall Street's top regulator was the victim of "SIM swapping," a technique internet fraudsters use to seize control of telephone lines, when its account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, was hacked earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday.

The SEC also said that, six months prior to the attack, staff had removed an added layer of protection, known as multi-factor authentication (MFA), and did not restore it until after the Jan. 9 attack.

As anticipation mounted for the agency's approval of exchange-traded products tracking bitcoin, an unidentified person or persons gained access to the account, posting the false announcement that approval had already been granted, causing a momentary jump in the cryptocurrency's price.

In a split vote, the commission granted approval the following day.

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SIM swapping is a technique in which attackers gain control of a telephone number by having it reassigned to a new device.

"Once in control of the phone number, the unauthorized party reset the password for the @SECGov account," an SEC spokesperson said in a statement.