Please get your cybersecurity together, US lawmakers urge SEC in wake of fake Bitcoin ETF tweet

THE US Securities and Exchange Commission has been told to get a grip of its cybersecurity following a fake tweet announcing the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden sent a cross-party memo to the SEC, urging it to review its security processes after a hacker briefly took over its official Twitter account.

The fake tweet announced that all applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs had been given approval - a post which moved the price of Bitcoin to $48,000.

The SEC quickly restored control of its social channel, with its chief Gary Gensler hurriedly taking to Twitter himself to explain the embarrassing situation.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds were eventually given the green light on Wednesday, as Twitter's senior technicians confirmed the breach and exposed the SEC's woeful social media security measures.

"We urge you to investigate the agency's practices related to the use of MFA, and in particular, phishing-resistant MFA, to identify any remaining security gaps that must be addressed," Lummis and Wyden told the SEC.

Yesterday, the SEC confirmed it was working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the hack.