Hacker suspected of hacking into US SEC X account in January allowed to travel during the holidays

Eric Council Jr., the hacker who hacked into the US SEC X account in January and posted a message suggesting that the Bitcoin spot ETF had been approved, will be allowed to travel during the holidays. Judge Amy Berman Jackson recently filed a document with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, stating that Council can travel to North Carolina with a third-party custodian between December 23 and 29. The judge said that Council "must provide the Pretrial Services Department with its precise itinerary and information about its accommodation at least two business days before the trip." (Cointelegraph) Earlier in October, U.S. federal prosecutors planned to offer a plea agreement to an Alabama man who was accused of participating in the hacking of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) X account in January and posting a false social media post about approving the first Bitcoin spot ETF. "We're going to offer a plea deal, but we don't know if he'll take it," U.S. prosecutors told the judge at a hearing in federal court in Washington. Eric Council Jr., 25, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and fraud using an access device. Council's cooperation may help prosecutors track down his co-conspirators in the case, who allegedly used stolen personal information of an SEC employee to gain access to the agency's accounts.