According to AFP local time on the 16th, although the White House and Twitter companies strongly denied it, Dutch prosecutors confirmed that Trump’s Twitter account had been hacked in October. However, Dutch prosecutors said that the “moral hacker” would not face charges.
According to Dutch media reports, on October 16, a hacker named Victor Gevers hacked into US President Trump’s Twitter account @realDonaldTrump by guessing the password.
However, both the White House and Twitter strongly denied reports that the account had been hacked.
Giffords, 44, quickly revealed the story of the hack at that time and said that the password he guessed was “maga2020!” This is Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again”.
“We believe hackers actually hacked into Trump’s Twitter account, but [his actions] meet the criteria set by case law: that moral hackers can move freely,” the Dutch prosecutor’s office said. It is reported that “moral hackers”, also known as white hat hackers, are a group of network security experts who specialize in simulating hacker attacks, helping customers understand the weaknesses of their network systems and make suggestions for improvement.
The prosecution added that hacking is a criminal offence in the Netherlands, but may prevent prosecutors from taking legal measures under “special circumstances” or “responsible disclosure”.
Dutch prosecutors reached the above conclusions based on an investigation by the professional network team of the police. “The hackers and the U.S. authorities have been informed of the results of the investigation,” prosecutors said.
When news of the hacking was first revealed, Gifford told the Dutch newspaper People that he had easy access to Trump’s account, indicating that Trump did not use basic security measures such as two-step verification. “After four failed attempts, I thought I would be blocked, or at least, be asked to provide more information,” he said.
Giffords also told The New York Times that he had tried to alert the U.S. authorities, and the U.S. Secret Service finally contacted him, and the Secret Service thanked him for bringing them to notice the security loophole.
The report noted that this was not the first time Giffords had entered Trump’s Twitter account: in 2016, he and two other people guessed Trump’s password, which was “yourefired” – a catchphrase in the reality TV show “The Apprentice”.
