SEC Investigates Unauthorized Access to Official Twitter Account

According to Foresight News, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a statement regarding the unauthorized access of its official @SECGov X.com Twitter account. In the statement, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said that an unauthorized individual accessed the account on January 9 by gaining control of the phone number associated with it, possibly through a SIM card swap attack. This is a common form of Twitter account hijacking that can be prevented with multi-factor authentication.

Gensler wrote in the statement that the SEC staff is still assessing the impact of the incident on the agency, investors, and markets, including concerns about the security of the SEC's social media accounts. They will continue to evaluate whether additional remedial measures are necessary. Gensler also noted that the agency is working with law enforcement to further investigate the matter and that the SEC does not use social media channels to disclose its actions, as social media posts only amplify announcements published on their website.