U.S. federal prosecutors offer plea deal to SEC hacker suspect, may pursue accomplices

 US federal prosecutors plan to offer a plea agreement to Eric Council Jr., a man from Alabama suspected of hacking into the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) X account, in an attempt to identify his co-conspirators. In January of this year, Council was accused of participating in a hack and publishing false news about approving a bitcoin spot ETF. Council pleaded not guilty to charges of identity theft and fraud in court. Prosecutors claim that Council forged identity documents, used stolen personal information, and collaborated with a cellphone store employee to help his co-conspirators break into the SEC account and publish false news.