Donald Trump’s Twitter account was hacked in October despite denials by the social media giant and the administration, Dutch prosecutors have confirmed.
The White House and Twitter had both strongly denied that the hacker gained access to Mr Trump’s account by simply guessing his password was “maga2020!”
Now Dutch officials say they will not prosecute Victor Gevers as he is viewed as an “ethical hacker” who tried to raise the alarm about the vulnerability of the account.
“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,” said the Dutch public prosecutor’s office in a statement.
The prosectors made their decision after a probe by the country’s police cyber specialist unit, called Team High-tech Crime.
“Both the hacker and the American authorities have been informed of the outcome of the investigation,” added the prosecutors.
Mr Gevers told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that he had easily accessed the outgoing president’s account.
“I expected to be blocked after four failed attempts. Or at least would be asked to provide additional information,” he said.
The hacker says he was eventually contacted by the Secret Service, who thanked him for bringing it to their attention.
In 2016 Mr Gevers also hacked into Mr Trump’s Twitter account by correctly guessing that his password was “yourefired”, the catchphrase he used in The Apprentice TV show.
