The SEC says a hacker pulled off a 'SIM swap' attack on a cell phone to get control of the regulator's X account this month

• The SEC said a "SIM swap" attack on a staffer's allowed illicit access to its X account this month. 
• No evidence was found that the hacker accessed SEC systems, data, devices, or other social media accounts.
• Law enforcement is investigating how the hacker convinced the carrier to alter the SIM access the account-linked phone number.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission shared new details regarding the fake post from its X account earlier this month that claimed the regulator had approved applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. 

The SEC said on Monday that the account was targeted in a "SIM swap" attack through the agency's telecom carrier, and the hacker gained control of a staffer's cell phone number, reset the password for the @SECGov account, and made a false post on January 9.

The post, which was quickly taken down, said that the SEC had approved bitcoin ETFs to begin trading, stirring up significant hype across the entire crypto markets and sending the price to as high as $47,897 before chairman Gary Gensler's clarification on his own account sent the coin tumbling back down to around $45,000.

As the SEC probes into the case, the "SIM swap" attack involved moving a person's phone number to another device, enabling the unauthorized party to receive voice and SMS communications linked to that number.

The regulator said in a note that they "have not identified any evidence that the unauthorized party gained access to SEC systems, data, devices, or other social media accounts." 

The SEC added that multifactor authentication for its X account was deactivated in July and was only reactivated after the hacking. The regulator has since enabled multifactor authentication on all SEC social media accounts that support it.

Law enforcement including the US Justice Department, FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security's cyber unit, is currently examining how the unidentified party convinced the carrier to alter the SIM for the account and how they found the phone number linked to the account.

The day after the incident, the SEC officially granted approval to 11 bitcoin ETF applications from various issuers, including Fidelity, BlackRock, and VanEck. The long-awaited approval has been touted as a simpler way for investors to gain exposure to bitcoin without having to directly hold it themselves. 

Bitcoin on Tuesday hit its lowest value in approximately two months, falling below $39,000, furthering concerns that the SEC's approval of spot bitcoin ETFs was a "sell the news" event, but experts say they still have faith in long-term dynamics for the crypto despite ETFs failing to catalyze an immediate spike in price.