PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s Twitter account was broken into last week by an ethical hacker who guessed the weak password on his fifth attempt, a Dutch newspaper has reported.
De Volkskrant said it had seen proof that the hacker, Victor Gevers, had accessed the US President’s account, which has 87.3 million followers.
Dutch security experts have also vouched for Gevers's reliability, as he is well-known in the field in that country.
However, The White House denies the hacking happened, while Twitter says it has seen "no evidence" that it did, including from the Dutch newspaper.
Trump’s account apparently had an extremely weak and easy to guess password. Furthermore, according to Gevers, Trump had not applied two-step verification.
Gevers reportedly used the password maga2020! to access Trump’s account, where he was able to post, read private messages, and follow whomever he chose.
The ethical hacker apparently guessed Trump’s password on his fifth try.
READ MORE: The final Donald Trump vs Joe Biden debate is tonight - but will it matter?
He told De Volkskrant he was “flabbergasted”, adding: “I expected to be blocked after four failed attempts. Or at least would be asked to provide additional information.”
As an “ethical hacker”, and because all hacking is illegal, Gevers took copious steps to notify the President and his security detail, and did not do anything while he had access to the account.
The president’s Twitter has apparently now been made more secure.
Gevers, who works from The Netherlands, asked: “Why is it possible for someone from a different time zone to log into such an important account?
“Why doesn’t Twitter demand better passwords? If I can access his account, then foreign nations can do so as well, right?
“Why aren’t the persons who are supposed to protect the President informed when someone reports that his account is unsafe?”
Gevers added: “Trump is over 70 – elderly people often switch off two-step verification because they find it too complicated. My own mother, for instance.
“For younger generations digital security is more self-evident.”
However, The White House has said the Dutch paper's claims are "absolutely not true".
In a statement, Twitter said: "We've seen no evidence to corroborate this claim, including from the article published in the Netherlands today.
"We proactively implemented account security measures for a designated group of high-profile, election-related Twitter accounts in the United States, including federal branches of government."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel