The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Inspector General has been urged by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., to launch an investigation into the hack of the SEC's account on X, formerly Twitter, as a result of the agency's negligence in adhering to cybersecurity best practices, according to The Hill.
Attackers were able to hijack the SEC's X account to falsely announce the agency's approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which prompted Bitcoin prices to reach almost $48,000 before plummeting to below $46,000 once the compromise was announced. Such account takeover was later noted by X to be caused by the compromise of a phone number related to the account, as well as the account's lack of two-factor authentication. "The SEC's failure to follow cybersecurity best practices is inexcusable, particularly given the agencys new requirements for cybersecurity disclosure. Additionally, a hack resulting in the publication of material information for investors could have significant impacts on the stability of the financial system and trust in public markets, including potential market manipulation," wrote Wyden and Lummis in a letter to SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey.
Attackers were able to hijack the SEC's X account to falsely announce the agency's approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which prompted Bitcoin prices to reach almost $48,000 before plummeting to below $46,000 once the compromise was announced. Such account takeover was later noted by X to be caused by the compromise of a phone number related to the account, as well as the account's lack of two-factor authentication. "The SEC's failure to follow cybersecurity best practices is inexcusable, particularly given the agencys new requirements for cybersecurity disclosure. Additionally, a hack resulting in the publication of material information for investors could have significant impacts on the stability of the financial system and trust in public markets, including potential market manipulation," wrote Wyden and Lummis in a letter to SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey.
