Dutch prosecutors have confirmed that Donald Trump's Twitter account was hacked in October despite denials from Washington and the company, but noted that the "ethical hacker" would not face any charges.
The hacker, identified as security expert Victor Gevers, gained access to Trump's twitter account @realDonaldTrump on Oct. 16 by guessing the president's password although both the White House and Twitter denied reports that the account had been hacked.
Gevers, 44, said he hacked into Trump's account using "maga2020!" as the password on his fifth attempt. "Maga" stands for the famous Trump slogan, "Make America Great Again."
The hacker realized that the lack of two-step verification on the account not only gave him control over Trump's direct messages, but also allowed him to post tweets in his name, alter his profile, and even download a datafile containing all of the account's direct messages (DMs).
However, instead of doing anything mischievous, Gevers brought the security lapse to the attention of authorities as well as Twitter, which the public prosecutor's described as "responsible disclosure" and cited as the reason why the "ethical hacker" will walk free even though hacking is a criminal offence in the Netherlands.
Trump's Twitter Password in 2016 was 'Yourefired'
This is not the first time Gevers has "hacked" into the president's Twitter account. In 2016, he and two others gained access to Trump's account after finding his password in a leaked database.
Back then, Trump's password was "yourefired," his famous catchphrase from the reality TV show that made him a household name long before he ran for presidency, 'The Apprentice.'
Last year, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani also reportedly texted the password of a personal account to journalist Roger Sollenberger. The accidental text, which had eight characters, started with the name of a networking company and included a capital letter, a special character, and a number.
Giuliani, who was Trump's cybersecurity adviser at the time, claimed the accidental message was a butt-dial but given the iPhone's messaging setup, IT experts confirmed that it would be "impossible" to type the complex password with one's butt.
