U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has assured lawmakers that the securities regulator “takes its cybersecurity obligations seriously.” Lawmakers raised concerns following the hacking of the SEC’s account on social media platform X, where a post falsely announced the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Gary Gensler Tells Lawmakers SEC Takes Cybersecurity 'Seriously' After X Account Hack
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Gensler: SEC Takes Cybersecurity Obligations Seriously
The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, replied to a letter from Representatives Patrick McHenry, Bill Huizenga, French Hill, and Ann Wagner on Tuesday regarding the recent unauthorized access to the SEC’s account on social media platform X.
The SEC’s @SECGov account was breached on Jan. 9 and a false announcement regarding the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was posted. At the time, however, no such approval had been granted by the regulator. The SEC later revealed that it was a SIM swap attack. Gensler told lawmakers:
SEC staff actively reached out to and began coordinating with appropriate law enforcement and federal oversight entities.
The SEC chair specifically stated that the securities watchdog is working with its own Division of Enforcement and Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as well as the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the incident.
Gensler further affirmed to the lawmakers: “SEC staff continue to assess the scope of the incident and coordinate with all of our law enforcement partners. Among other things, law enforcement is currently investigating how the unauthorized party got the carrier to change the SIM for the account and how the party knew which phone number was associated with the account. At present, SEC staff have not identified any evidence that the unauthorized party gained access to SEC systems, data, devices, or other social media accounts.”
Concluding his letter, Gensler stated:
I assure you that the SEC takes its cybersecurity obligations seriously.
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