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brooklynite

(93,847 posts)
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 11:39 AM Oct 2020

Trump's Twitter Account Was Hacked

Source: Political Wire

President Trump’s Twitter account was hacked last week, after a Dutch researcher correctly guessed the president’s password: “maga2020!”, according to de Volkskrant.

“Victor Gevers, a security expert, had access to Trump’s direct messages, could post tweets in his name and change his profile. Gevers took screenshots when he had access to Trump’s account.”


Read more: https://politicalwire.com/2020/10/22/trumps-twitter-account-was-hacked/

55 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Trump's Twitter Account Was Hacked (Original Post) brooklynite Oct 2020 OP
That barely qualifies as a hack. I'm pissed I didn't think of trying that. I would have guessed that brewens Oct 2020 #1
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Nitram Oct 2020 #10
Agree. If that was his actual password, then that is just proves what an idiot he is. TomCADem Oct 2020 #23
He thought he was being cagey by using only one exclamation point. n/t thesquanderer Oct 2020 #38
And not ALL CAPS!!!! reACTIONary Oct 2020 #51
Poor passworc Randomthought Oct 2020 #2
What is really surprising is that he did not use two-factor authentication TomCADem Oct 2020 #24
Who said they haven't??? Grins Oct 2020 #35
Why does this remind me... jmowreader Oct 2020 #3
LOL. I'm surprised it wasn't "12345" catbyte Oct 2020 #4
I'm surprised it wasn't "password" (n/t) PJMcK Oct 2020 #8
Or "JohnBarron" Mike 03 Oct 2020 #9
That would be too difficult because he would get stuck on 2. GemDigger Oct 2020 #12
hey. thats the same combination on my matched luggage. "pres screub". AllaN01Bear Oct 2020 #26
SHHH! That's his keyword for launching a nuke strike...... getagrip_already Oct 2020 #28
Really? That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage! Initech Oct 2020 #30
Or "grabthembytheirpussy". cstanleytech Oct 2020 #40
The only reason anyone noticed.. SergeStorms Oct 2020 #5
Well the link is a tease. No pictures. GoneOffShore Oct 2020 #6
You have to dig all the way through Political Wire's links BumRushDaShow Oct 2020 #11
Thank you. GoneOffShore Oct 2020 #15
You are most welcome! BumRushDaShow Oct 2020 #16
Thanks for that. LOL! @ moonscape Oct 2020 #41
National ffr Oct 2020 #7
*ding!* Absolutely. This is a just a minor example. nt crickets Oct 2020 #22
I don't buy it DrToast Oct 2020 #13
Apparently according to the source article for Politcal Wire's "soundbite version" BumRushDaShow Oct 2020 #17
New password? bucolic_frolic Oct 2020 #14
The new password will be "MAGA2020!" NurseJackie Oct 2020 #18
LOL! pandr32 Oct 2020 #20
That seems way too easy to be true Sapient Donkey Oct 2020 #19
Shows what you know Rural_Progressive Oct 2020 #25
Trump's Password moonseller66 Oct 2020 #21
Is this satire? It's getting so I can't tell anymore. uppityperson Oct 2020 #27
WH staff will sift thousands of his tweets and denounce the inconvenient ones as being fake. Marcuse Oct 2020 #29
that was my first thought. n/t halobeam Oct 2020 #37
Maybe he should just build a wall around his twitter discntnt_irny_srcsm Oct 2020 #31
Holy crap, Trump really is President Skroob! Initech Oct 2020 #32
How much fun could have been had with that? truthisfreedom Oct 2020 #33
Doesn't matter Cyrano Oct 2020 #34
Butter Emails IronLionZion Oct 2020 #36
IF TRUE, he should have changed the password so Trump would be locked out! flor-de-jasmim Oct 2020 #39
There's really nothing they could tweet that would make that cesspool worse relayerbob Oct 2020 #42
That's what I was thinking DFW Oct 2020 #43
If this whole IQ45 thing was some sort of fiction novel/movie relayerbob Oct 2020 #44
Stranger than any fiction. DFW Oct 2020 #45
Don't Catholics drink RC cola? soldierant Oct 2020 #47
No idea. DFW Oct 2020 #49
I guess the joke fell flatter than the carbonation soldierant Oct 2020 #55
In all fairness to the SCOTUS relayerbob Oct 2020 #48
Meneer Gevers is my hero! nt soldierant Oct 2020 #46
Huh. I would have thought Trump's password would be "password" tclambert Oct 2020 #50
White House and Twitter deny Dutch researcher's claim he accessed Trump's account Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Oct 2020 #52
Crap password. No 2FA. Lovely. SKKY Oct 2020 #53
it's now "password" Demonaut Oct 2020 #54

brewens

(13,393 posts)
1. That barely qualifies as a hack. I'm pissed I didn't think of trying that. I would have guessed that
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 11:41 AM
Oct 2020

one too and got in.

TomCADem

(17,378 posts)
23. Agree. If that was his actual password, then that is just proves what an idiot he is.
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:40 PM
Oct 2020

Also, you would think that at minimum he would set up two-factor authentication for his twitter account, but I guess Trump's approach to cybersecurity is the same as his approach to COVID prevention.

TomCADem

(17,378 posts)
24. What is really surprising is that he did not use two-factor authentication
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:41 PM
Oct 2020

A poor password, plus not using two-factor authentication for the most notorious twitter account in the world?

Grins

(7,132 posts)
35. Who said they haven't???
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 02:06 PM
Oct 2020

I’m guessing those more familiar with Russian, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, or even Hebrew languages. If the intelligence director of one of those countries had not already done that, 24x7, should be fired.

GemDigger

(4,305 posts)
12. That would be too difficult because he would get stuck on 2.
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:03 PM
Oct 2020

He doesn't know numbers very well. If he did, he really would be a billionaire.

getagrip_already

(14,238 posts)
28. SHHH! That's his keyword for launching a nuke strike......
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:54 PM
Oct 2020

It's actually clever because it's a play on the launch countdown.

Don't let russia know. it's a secwet.

SergeStorms

(18,882 posts)
5. The only reason anyone noticed..
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 11:45 AM
Oct 2020

was a post that contained only the truth, and was in both upper and lower case letters. That was highly suspicious and it was alerted upon.

BumRushDaShow

(127,292 posts)
11. You have to dig all the way through Political Wire's links
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:01 PM
Oct 2020

and then links from those links to the site (in English) that had the screenshots - https://www.vn.nl/trump-twitter-hacked-again/

moonscape

(4,664 posts)
41. Thanks for that. LOL! @
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 03:54 PM
Oct 2020

"Victor is one of the three Dutch ‘grumpy old hackers’ who gained access to Trump’s Twitter account four years ago. The password was: yourefired. "

BumRushDaShow

(127,292 posts)
17. Apparently according to the source article for Politcal Wire's "soundbite version"
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:20 PM
Oct 2020

it does now, after guy who did it suggested it and the SS contacted him.

Dutch Ethical Hacker Logs into Trump’s Twitter Account

Last week a Dutch security researcher succeeded in logging into the Twitter account of the American President Donald Trump. Trump, an active Twitterer with 87 million followers, had an extremely weak and easy to guess password and had according to the researcher, not applied two-step verification.

Huib Modderkolk22 oktober 2020, 15:59

[snip]

Illegal

After all, hacking an account is illegal. If Gevers wants to make it clear that he is acting with good intentions, he will have to proceed responsibly and document his steps. He takes screenshots. Then he sends an email to Donald Trump – ‘I still had an old email account of his’ – and sends a copy to the American organisation for digital security. He kindly advises Trump to take extra security measures. And perhaps use a somewhat longer password. Gevers even suggests one: !IWillMakeAmericaGreatAgain2020!, and adds instructions for activating two-step verification. ‘But I didn’t get a reply.’

So, he tries to warn others. Trump’s campaign team, his family. He sends messages via Twitter asking if someone will call Trump’s attention to the fact that his Twitter account is not safe. He tags the CIA, the White House, the FBI, Twitter themselves. No response.

Gevers: ‘Then on Saturday, I suddenly saw that two-step verification for the account had been activated.’ Two days later, in the evening, he receives an email from the American Secret Service. ‘Friendly. They were interested in my information. I forwarded everything to them.’ On Tuesday they speak digitally. They thank Gevers, telling him that they were unaware of the security leak. This still leaves the security researcher with a number of questions: ‘Why is it possible for someone from a different time zone to log into such an important account? Why doesn’t Twitter demand better passwords? If I can access his account, then foreign nations can do so as well, right? Why aren’t the persons who are supposed to protect the President informed when someone reports that his account is unsafe?’

Surprisingly easy

Matthijs Koot, security researcher at Secura, is also astonished at how easy it was for Gevers to take over Trump’s account. ‘To put it harshly: people who in the year 2020 still ignore basic advice on online security are a potential danger to themselves and to those around them.’

https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/dutch-ethical-hacker-logs-into-trump-s-twitter-account~badaa815/

Sapient Donkey

(1,568 posts)
19. That seems way too easy to be true
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:28 PM
Oct 2020

Not that I don't think Trump would use something that basic, but that I'd think if that were the case then it would have been compromised much earlier.

I would be nervous even trying to gain access to high profile accounts. I'm pretty sure I would instantly regret trying it if I decided to test some passwords on a head of state's twitter account and have it actually log me in.

Cyrano

(15,021 posts)
34. Doesn't matter
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 01:45 PM
Oct 2020

Even if the MAGAs found that he was torturing kittens and screwing goats, they wouldn't care.

There is absolutely nothing that Dear Leader could do that they would find offensive.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
43. That's what I was thinking
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 04:41 PM
Oct 2020

What could anyone possibly dream up that would make Trump look worse than he makes himself look already?

relayerbob

(6,508 posts)
44. If this whole IQ45 thing was some sort of fiction novel/movie
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 05:01 PM
Oct 2020

It would be a flop, as no one would believe it

DFW

(54,050 posts)
45. Stranger than any fiction.
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 05:05 PM
Oct 2020

"The Manchurian Candidate" meets "Of Thee I Sing."

But instead of ruling in favor of corn muffins, Trump's Supreme Court rules in favor of Jim Jones's Kool-Aid (Catholics excepted--they get to drink pre-tested Dr. Pepper).

soldierant

(6,647 posts)
55. I guess the joke fell flatter than the carbonation
Fri Oct 23, 2020, 07:30 PM
Oct 2020

in a soda that old.

There are numerous "catholic" churches, but the one that answers to the Vatican is the Roman Catholic Church - Roman Catholic - R.C.

It used to be a farly common wordplay, but with RC gone for so long, you have to be as old as I am to get it.

relayerbob

(6,508 posts)
48. In all fairness to the SCOTUS
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 05:15 PM
Oct 2020

most of them already drank the Kool-Aid/Dr Pepper. And apparently testing is not required

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,063 posts)
52. White House and Twitter deny Dutch researcher's claim he accessed Trump's account
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 08:16 PM
Oct 2020

Both Twitter and the White House are denying a Dutch researcher's claim that he was able to access President Trump's account by guessing his password.

Dutch media outlets initially reported Victor Gevers, a security researcher, had correctly guessed the president's password was "maga2020!"

While Gevers posted a screenshot purporting to show himself having accessed the account, Motherboard notes that the screenshot shows the president's Twitter bio without the American flag emoji it displays.

Twitter, meanwhile, has said it has seen no evidence of improper access to the account, which has more than 87 million followers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/white-house-and-twitter-deny-dutch-researchers-claim-he-accessed-trumps-account/ar-BB1aja5L?li=BBnb7Kz

CYA?

SKKY

(11,771 posts)
53. Crap password. No 2FA. Lovely.
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 08:41 PM
Oct 2020

It's a good think I didn't get access because there is no measure of how jacked up I would have left his account.

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