Gensler declared that the SEC is assessing the effect of the security compromise on investors, marketplaces, and crypto authorities while taking the cybersecurity situation seriously.
There is currently no proof that an unauthorised party obtained access to SEC devices, data, systems, or other social media accounts, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler.
The SEC is taking the cybersecurity incident seriously, and it is presently assessing the impact of this security breach on crypto agencies, investors, and marketplaces, according to a statement made by Gensler regarding the unauthorised access to the agency’s @SECGov X account (formerly Twitter).
According to Gensler, the SEC is aware that worries about the security of the organization’s social media accounts are among the effects of the cyber breach. He added that the team will keep determining whether more corrective action is necessary.
For their investigations, the SEC is working with law enforcement and security organisations, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
In the SEC report, Gensler states that on January 9, 2024, at 4:11 PM ET, an unauthorised individual obtained control of the SEC’s official X account and claimed that the SEC had approved a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Two minutes after this ETF acceptance on X, another unauthorised party posted something saying “$BTC.”
According to the report, the initial post on the ETF approval is still up on X, while the second post was removed. But following this event, X was approached by SEC workers to help them stop the unauthorised access. However, X safety officials report that they discovered the illegal access was stopped between 4:40 and 5:30 p.m. ET.
Furthermore, Gensler stressed that the SEC never announces any developments on X or any other social media network.
Congressmen from the United States urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose the hack that led to a fictitious announcement on the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF being uploaded on X. Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis encouraged SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey to look into the commission’s cybersecurity procedures in a letter dated January 11 that was sent to Axios.