Dutch hacker Victor Gevers, researcher at the GDI Foundation and president of the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure gained access to Donald Trump's Twitter account by guessing the president's password.
There was no two-factor authentication on the account, which gave Gevers direct access to the president's profile.
Vrij Nederland first reported the story. After gaining access to the account, Gevers emailed US-CERT, a division of Homeland Security, about the security failure, after which the password was reset.
It took 5 attempts for Gevers to guess that the correct password was "maga2020!". It is concerning how Twitter let him type the wrong passwords four times, then log in smoothly on his fifth attempt.
Another notable thing here is President Trump's relatively straightforward password. Donald Trump is the President of the United States and holds good authority with followers around the world. A password as simple as "maga2020" without two-factor authentication is an open invitation for hackers to abuse this authority.
Trump's Account Hacked Again!
It's not the first time that one of Trump's accounts has been compromised, and it's not the first time that Victor Gevers has been involved. In 2016, three Dutch hackers found Donald Trump's Twitter password using the 2012 LinkedIn violation, and Gevers was one of them.
At the time, Trump's password was "yourfired", his slogan for "The Apprentice" series. When Gevers reported his 2016 violation to local authorities, he suggested the password "maga2020!" which surprisingly was the password when it broke into President Trump's account, again.
Social networks and account security
While Trump's account has a significant influence on world events, everyone's social media account counts at least for their own private circles. This is why it is important to secure your social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook.
You can secure most accounts with two-factor authentication, which uses your phone to make sure you access the account. On Twitter, go to the side menu> More> Settings and privacy> Account settings> Security? Two-factor authentication. Here's how to enable two-factor authentication for Google and Facebook.
Donald Trump's Twitter account, which was consulted by the Dutch security expert, appeared first on Fossbytes.
