A Dutch researcher was able to hack into Donald Trump’s official Twitter account simply by guessing his password. It took him five tries and was correct with the obvious and predictable one:Â “maga2020!”
The Guardian reports that Victor Gevers, a security expert, could easily log in. Once the password worked, he had “access to Trump’s direct messages, could post tweets in his name and change his profile.”
He gained access simply by guessing Trump’s password. His fifth attempt, “maga2020!” worked like a charm. You’d think that maybe there would be extra security measures around Trump’s Twitter account, but this is the second time in four years that Gevers has been able to access Trump’s Twitter account.
It’s way too easy, and Trump’s ridiculously regular password doesn’t help matters. “I expected to be blocked after four failed attempts,” Gevers said. “Or at least would be asked to provide additional information.”
But he wasn’t, which, Gevers said, suggests that Trump isn’t using even a basic two-step verification, something that’s very common and easy to set up. In two-step verification, usually, you provide a phone number that gets sent a code in order for your password and login to be verified.
A day later, Gevers noticed that two-step authentication had been activated, and then two days after that, the Secret Service finally got in touch to thank him for bringing the problem to their attention.
Yikes. The worst part is that this wasn’t the first time Gevers himself got into the president’s account. In 2016, he and a couple other people guessed that Trump’s password was “yourefired.”
In a statement, Twitter said, “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.”
