Despite claims from the White House that Donald Trump's Twitter account was not hacked back in October, Dutch prosecutors have confirmed otherwise.
Victor Gevers alleged he got into Trump's account on Oct. 16 after he guessed the President's password, which he claimed was "maga2020!" Both the White House and Twitter denied reports that Trump was hacked, although evidence suggests otherwise. As the Guardian reports, the Netherlands public prosecutor's office said, "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."
While hacking is, in fact, a criminal offence in the Netherlands, "special circumstances" and "responsible disclosure" suggest prosecutors couldn't take further action against Gevers, who disclosed that he got into Trump's account immediately. "Both the hacker and the American authorities have been informed of the outcome of the investigation," prosecutors added.
A lot of doubt has been cast on Gevers' story, especially after he provided screenshots as alleged proof, Vice pointed out. As TMZ reported, a Twitter spokesperson denied Gevers gained acces to Trump's account, and said there was "no evidence to corroborate this claim, including from the article published in the Netherlands." If Gevers did actually hack into the President's Twitter, it would suggest Trump does not use two-factor authentication.
Gevers previously alleged this wasn't the first time he got into the account, and said he guessed his password as "yourefired" back in 2016. Twitter and the White House have yet to respond to the Dutch prosecutor's verdict, but it's safe to assume they've been made aware.
