Elon Musk X’s Security In Question After US SEC’s X Account Gets Hacked

SEC X Account Hack: Naysayers criticize Elon Musk's X for the SEC's X account security incident that caused a rumble in the crypto market.
By Varinder Singh
Elon Musk X Brazil Supreme Court

The hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s official account on X on Tuesday has renewed concerns about the security of Elon Musk’s social media platform. However, the X safety team has confirmed that the account was compromised due to the SEC failing to enable two-factor authentication rather than any breach of X’s systems.

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Naysayers Question Security of X After Elon Musk’s Takeover

The hackers posted false news about the SEC’s approved all spot Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC deleted the post about 30 minutes after it appeared, reported Reuters on January 10.

X confirmed after an investigation that the SEC’s account was compromised after an unidentified individual gained control over a phone number linked to the security agency through a third party. X also said in a post that two-factor authentication was not enabled by the SEC official account.

In addition, X said there was no breach of the platform’s systems. However, security analysts call the incident concerning. Others are blaming Elon Musk for the incident and the lack of security measures on the platform.

“Something like that, where you can take over the SEC account and potentially affect the value of bitcoin in the market – there’s a massive opportunity for disinformation,” said Austin Berglas, a former cybersecurity official at the FBI’s New York office and a senior executive at the security firm BlueVoyant.

The fake SEC announcement caused massive volatility in the Bitcoin price, causing over $140 million in total liquidation in hours, according to data by Coinglass. BTC price currently trades under $46,000 after the fake SEC post.

The SEC is now working with law enforcement and others in the government to investigate the matter. Meanwhile, Congressional members seek answers from the SEC and Gensler about the blunder.

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Varinder Singh
Varinder has over 10 years of experience and is known as a seasoned leader for his involvement in the fintech sector. With over 5 years dedicated to blockchain, crypto, and Web3 developments, he has experienced two Bitcoin halving events making him key opinion leader in the space. At CoinGape Media, Varinder leads the editorial decisions, spearheading the news team to cover latest updates, markets trends and developments within the crypto industry. The company was recognized as Best Crypto Media Company 2024 for high impact and quality reporting. Being a Master of Technology degree holder, analytics thinker, technology enthusiast, Varinder has shared his knowledge of disruptive technologies in over 5000+ news, articles, and papers.
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