Live data from Hacker News

Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

theguardian.com

41–50 of 111 posts

Re: Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

#41

There's no evidence in this story, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

I seriously doubt Secret Service would be thanking this guy - if anything the DoJ would be up his ass

Also you are going to tell me that his password was "maga2020!" and the millions of wannabe script kiddies and nation-states with massive computing power couldn't crack it but suddenly this guy does in five guesses?

Re: Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

#44

> Gevers said the ease with which he accessed Trump’s account suggested the president was not using basic security measures like two-step verification. I am gobsmacked that Twitter allowed his account to continue without some kind of additional security measures like 2FA or geo-IP checking. This is a guy that could literally start World War III by sending a tweet like, "Eat shit, China! Missiles on their way!" And Tw…

lets integrate the nukes with twitter and IFTTT.

[deleted]

Re: Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

#46
post #15

Isn't this enough of a crime for some prison time? Is there some exception for registered researchers or something?

That was my first thought, too. The student who "hacked" Sarah Palin's email account (he reset her password by answering her security questions using publicly available information) was convicted of a felony and spent a year and a day in jail.

Re: Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

#47

There's no evidence in this story, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

If you follow the references they provide, you'll see that the person responsible is a respected security researcher with a history of similar discoveries. He also posted screenshots, and suggests that he was responsible for Trump's recent tweet praising a satirical Babylon Bee article.

https://www.vn.nl/trump-twitter-hacked-again/:

Gevers comes up with a plan to make sure that this time the White House responds. He refuses to say what he did exactly, but in a tweet that has now been removed, he alludes to the fact that he was the one to post the Babylon Bee tweet in Trump’s name. Shortly after, he posted a tweet in his own name, tagging Trump and Team Trump, saying the Babylon Bee-tweet could now be removed, as it had served its purpose.

“I am not saying I did it. But what if I was the one to post the tweet? Then Trump will need to either admit to never having read the Babylon Bee article and posting this bullshit tweet, OR he will need to acknowledge that someone else posted the tweet.”

Breaking into a Twitter account to prove it is poorly secured is one thing, posting a tweet is another. “I took things further this time because our previous report obviously didn’t have any effect”, says Gevers. “I hope that everything will now be resolved soon, and that mister Trump sends us a message. ‘Thank you for your work/report.’ That should suffice and will round up things for both cases.”

Re: Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

#49
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. If the password was that simple it would have hacked a while back

I mean who knows how many intelligence agencies are reading his DM's. If I knew Trumps password I wouldn't do anything that would make it clear that I knew it.

Intelligence agencies don't need his password to read his DMs on twitter.

Re: Trump's Twitter account hacked after Dutch researcher guessed password?

#50

> Gevers said the ease with which he accessed Trump’s account suggested the president was not using basic security measures like two-step verification. I am gobsmacked that Twitter allowed his account to continue without some kind of additional security measures like 2FA or geo-IP checking. This is a guy that could literally start World War III by sending a tweet like, "Eat shit, China! Missiles on their way!" And Tw…

What are they going to do, kick him off? This man's account has been the singular reason for Twitter's relevance over the past four years.
Post reply on HN