In the world of cryptocurrencies, we are in a phase that is as expected as it is crucial, and yesterday 9 January, the market was shaken by an unexpected event. While the authorities are discussing the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF, a shocking episode caught everyone's attention. The official Twitter account of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was hacked, spreading a bogus tweet about the official approval of Bitcoin ETFs. Within minutes, Chairman Gary Gensler denied the news, revealing that the account had been compromised. But what lies behind this episode? Truth, market manipulation or a simple programming error in the tweet? Some authoritative sources suggest the possibility of a sim swap attack on the number associated with the 2FA of the SEC's Twitter account.
The So Expected Announcement
At 10:11pm on January 9, the main investor protection body Twitter account, the SEC, is hacked and posts a tweet announcing the approval of the long-awaited Bitcoin ETFs. The authoritativeness of the institutional account, the tone of voice, the content, and the professionalism of the tweet let everyone assume an official announcement, but this is not the case.
Gary Gensler's Denial
A few minutes later, here's the denial: Gary Gensler, Chairman of the SEC, announces that the Twitter account has been compromised and that the post did not endorse Bitcoin ETFs.
Sim Swap, A Possible Explanation
Different explanations have been hypothesised by different analysts: Hacking, deliberate manipulation of the SEC, tweet programming error.. But one of them seems the most plausible: a sim swap attack. The security consultant, known on Twitter as @Plumferno, claims to have been alerted just moments before the tweet's denial that the tweet was false. He claims that the phone number associated with the SEC account suffered a sim swap attack, thereby allowing hackers to overcome two-factor authentication (2FA) protections and gain access to the Twitter account.
Conclusions-and-recommendations
This event will be remembered in the history books. How is it possible that one of the most important Twitter accounts in the world could be hacked in this way, resulting in market volatility that caused many people to lose money? This underlines the importance of the security of all one's accounts and personal data, but also highlights the possible impact that the approval of Bitcoin ETFs will have on global financial markets. Learn more about the world of Web3 and cryptocurrencies on our Web3 Guide by Spaziocrypto!
