Senators call for investigation into SEC after agency's X account was hacked

Senators from both sides of the political aisle are calling for an investigation into the Securities and Exchange Commission after the agency's X account was hacked. 

Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Ron Wyden., D-Ore., called on SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey in a letter to investigate the “SEC’s apparent failure to follow cybersecurity best practices.”

"Not only should the agency have enabled MFA [multi-factor authentication], but it should have secured its accounts with phishing-resistant hardware tokens, commonly known as security keys, which are the gold standard for account cybersecurity," the letter first obtained by Axios reads. 

Earlier this week, the SEC revealed that its X account, formerly Twitter, had been hacked right after it appeared to announce the approval of multiple bitcoin investment funds.

The announcement appeared to be false as cryptocurrency agencies were still waiting for the decisions regarding the SEC's funds. The post about the funds was deleted after 30 minutes of being up, according to The Hill. 

“The @SECGov X account was compromised, and an unauthorized post was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products,” the agency wrote on Tuesday, according to the outlet. 

Lummis and Wyden criticized the agency in the letter, arguing that this would impact the public's trust of the public markets. 

“Additionally, a hack resulting in the publication of material information for investors could have significant impacts on the stability of the financial system and trust in public markets, including potential market manipulation,” the letter reads.