Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile phone with President Trump’s
Twitter page shown in the background on May 27, 2020, in Arlington,
Virginia. Olivier DOULIERY / AFP
Dutch prosecutors 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.”
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“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.
It added that hacking was a criminal offence in the
Netherlands.
But “special circumstances, also referred to in practice as
‘responsible disclosure’,” could stop prosecutors from taking
steps, the OM added.
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Dutch prosecutors made their findings based on an investigation
by police’s specialist cyber unit called Team High-tech Crime.
“Both the hacker and the American authorities have been informed
of the outcome of the investigation,” prosecutors said.
AFP