Hacker cracked Donald Trump’s Twitter account by guessing password was ‘maga2020!’
- Dutch prosecutors say ‘ethical hacker’ Victor Gevers will not face charges over incident that was earlier denied by both White House and Twitter
- Gevers had disclosed the breach immediately after reportedly gaining access to the account in October
Dutch prosecutors on Wednesday said a man had cracked US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account in October despite denials from Washington and the company, but added that the so-called ethical hacker would not face charges.
The man, named as Victor Gevers in Dutch media, reportedly hacked into Trump’s account @realDonaldTrump by guessing his password on October 16, Dutch media reports said.
Both the White House and Twitter have strenuously denied reports that the account had been hacked.
Gevers, 44, disclosed the hack immediately, saying the password he guessed was “maga2020!”, referring to the Trump slogan “Make America Great Again”.
“We believe the hacker has actually penetrated Trump’s Twitter account, but has met the criteria that have been developed in case law to go free as an ethical hacker,” the public prosecutor’s office (OM) said.