SEC’s Gensler assures no system access in response to X account breach

Gensler stated that the SEC is taking the cybersecurity incident seriously and is currently evaluating the impact of this security breach on crypto agencies, investors, and marketplaces.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Gary Gensler, has said there is no evidence that the unauthorized party gained access to SEC systems, data, devices, or other social media accounts at the moment.

In a statement on the unauthorized access to the SEC’s @SECGov X account (formerly Twitter), Gensler emphasized that the SEC is taking the cybersecurity incident seriously and is currently evaluating the impact of this security breach on crypto agencies, investors, and marketplaces.

Gensler stated that the SEC recognizes that the impact of the security breach includes concerns about the security of the SEC’s social media accounts. He further noted that the staff will continue assessing whether additional remedial measures are warranted.

The SEC is collaborating with law enforcement and security agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, among others, for their investigations.

According to Gensler in the SEC report, on Jan. 9, 2024, an unauthorized party took control of the SEC official X account over the phone at 4:11 pm ET and posted that the SEC approved a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Apart from this ETF approval on X, an unauthorized party made another post two minutes later that said “$BTC.”

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The report states that the second post got deleted, and the first one of ETF approval remains on X. However, after this incident, the SEC staff contacted X for assistance in terminating the unauthorized access. But, as per X safety officials, they found that the unauthorized access was terminated between 4:40 pm ET and 5:30 pm ET.

Additionally, Gensler emphasized that the SEC does not use X or any other social media platform to announce any development.

Members of the United States Congress called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to report the hack that resulted in a fake announcement on a spot Bitcoin ETF approval to be posted to X. In a Jan. 11 letter provided to Axios, Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis urged SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey to launch a probe into the commission’s cybersecurity practices.