Victor Gevers, a security expert, had access to Trumpās direct messages, could post tweets in his name and change his profile, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported on Thursday.
Gevers ā who previously managed to log into Trumpās account in 2016 ā apparently gained access by guessing Trumpās password.
He tried āmaga2020!ā on his fifth attempt and it worked.
Maga stands for Trumpās oft used campaign slogan Make America Great Again.
āI expected to be blocked after four failed attempts. Or at least would be asked to provide additional information,ā Gevers told De Volkskrant.
Twitter, however, denied the report.
āWeāve seen no evidence to corroborate this claim, including from the article published in the Netherlands today. We proactively implemented account security measures for a designated group of high-profile, election-related Twitter accounts in the United States, including federal branches of government,ā a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.
However, Gevers told De Volkskrant the ease with which he accessed Trumpās account suggested the president was not using basic security measures like two-step verification.
Allegedly gaining access to Trumpās Twitter meant Gevers was suddenly able to connect with 87 million users ā the number of Trumpās followers ā and according to De Volkskrantās story, it sent him into a bit of a panic.
āSo, he tries to warn others. Trumpās campaign team, his family. He sends messages via Twitter asking if someone will call Trumpās attention to the fact that his Twitter account is not safe. He tags the CIA, the White House, the FBI, Twitter themselves. No response,ā the paper reported.
A day later, Gevers noticed that two-step verification had been activated on Trumpās account, he noted. Two days later, the Secret Service got in touch.
According to De Volkskrant, they thanked him for bringing the security problem to their attention.
Remarkably, it wasnāt the first time Gevers has gained access to the presidentās Twitter account.
In 2016, he and two others guessed Trumpās password and got into his account.
Back then Trumpās password was āyourefiredā, according to VN news, his catchphrase from the reality TV show that brought him into American living rooms before his election, The Apprentice.
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