A Dutch hacker claims he has been able to gain access to Donald Trump’s Twitter account, RTL Nieuws reported. Victor Gevers, who is an ethical hacker that helps companies and individuals to expose vulnerabilities in their security systems, says he made four attempts to hack Trump’s account and was amazed by how simple his password was.
"I thought 'oh god' when I logged in. I just don’t want to be able to get in, especially not with such an important account", Gevers told RTL Nieuws.
According to other Dutch media outlets, the hacker made between four and seven unsuccessful attempts before he successfully hacked Trump’s account.
Gevers claims Trump had the password "maga2020". He also alleged that the Republican president had no additional security in place, such as two-step verification. Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant writes that the hacker took screenshots of Trump’s account and shared the images with the media. Security experts in the Netherlands confirmed that the hack had taken place.
Gevers did not tweet anything on behalf of Trump and did not access his private messages. He then sent an email to Trump, his family, and his campaign informing him about the hack
"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 told de Volkskrant.
When Gevers did not receive feedback, he then posted a statement about the hack tagging US intelligence agencies, such as the CIA and the FBI, as well as the White House and even Twitter, but again failed to receive an answer.
Dear @realDonaldTrump,
— Victor Gevers (@0xDUDE) October 19, 2020
I've tried to notify multiple times because of your passwords for Twitter are too weak. Last Friday, I contacted @CISAgov, @TeamTrump, @WhiteHouse, @DonaldJTrumpJr, and @twittersecurity, just like in Oct 2016. But no one responds. Please keep 2FA enabled! https://t.co/DRCCS8NAa4
He then emailed the US Secret Service, which contacted him two days later and is said to have taken the matter quite seriously.
The hacker claims that since then, Trump has changed his password and turned on two-step verification.
Twitter, however, dismissed the claim that the president’s account had been hacked.
"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", a Twitter spokesperson said.
Ronald Prins, who, according to de Volkskrant, is one of the best-known Dutch security experts, said that he finds Gevers' claim credible.
"I’ve known Victor Gevers for quite a few years. He has a reputation of devoting his life to finding vulnerabilities and always adopts a very ethical attitude in doing so. On the basis of what I know and have seen, his claim seems credible", Prins said.
