A Dutch security researcher managed to log into the Twitter account of US President Donald Trump last week. He and two others already succeeded in this in 2016. De Volkskrant and Vrij Nederland write that on Thursday, after the media saw evidence. Twitter and the White House dispute that Trump’s account has been hacked.
A Dutch security researcher managed to log into the Twitter account of US President Donald Trump last week. He and two others already succeeded in this in 2016. De Volkskrant and Vrij Nederland write that on Thursday, after the media saw evidence. Twitter and the White House dispute that Trump’s account has been hacked.
Investigator Victor Gevers was able to guess the password in seven attempts and found that the president was not using two-step verification. He had the ability to post messages on Trump’s behalf and view private messages, which he did not.
The two-step verification has likely been disabled, as several Trump campaigners also have access to the account.
Gevers has reported the leak to the US government and the president is said to have changed his password and enabled two-step verification. Gevers had a hard time finding someone who could respond to his report, Vrij Nederland writes in a reconstruction.
Gevers received no response from Trump’s team in his previous hack. The magazine speculates that the investigator has now posted a tweet to Trump’s account to get his attention.
Four years ago, three Dutch people, including Gevers, also managed to guess Trump’s password and gain access to his account.
Twitter: ‘We see no evidence of the hack’
A Twitter spokesperson told various American media, including Variety, that Trump’s account has not been hacked. “We have not seen any evidence to support this claim, including in the article published today in the Netherlands.”
According to the company, Trump’s account, like some other high-ranking users, is under additional security measures. For example, it is strongly recommended to set up two-step verification.
A White House spokesperson has denied the hack in conversation with The Verge. “It’s absolutely not true,” adding that the White House never comments on the security measures surrounding the president’s social media accounts.
