Cybersecurity maestro and former fugitive John McAfee claims his phone got hacked

John McAfee -- an early cybersecurity pioneer -- claims someone hacked into his phone and hijacked his Twitter account.

The 72-year old McAfee is a dubious character with an admittedly colorful past, so his exploits should be considered wearily. He believes the Belize government once had a plot to kill him -- and supports it with evidence. He fled the jungles of Belize in 2012 after police wanted him for questioning concerning the murder of his neighbor. He sought the nomination for president of the United States in 2016 on the Libertarian ticket. He has done lots of drugs -- some of which he became addicted to and others that "astonished" him.

What's true and not true in the realm of McAfee will remain murky, but nonetheless, he contends someone recently breached his smartphone.

This could, however, be a stunt. In an exclusive reveal to Newsweek in April 2017, McAfree showed reporters a prototype of the "John McAfee Privacy Phone," a $1,100 device which he contends will be the world's most hack-proof phone.

McAfee could be publicizing, to the sensationalist and reactionary Twitterverse, that even the legendary security researcher's phone was hacked -- all the while using two-factor authentication, or 2-FA. It looks like he was using an Android phone, as shown in a screenshot sent to the BCC which includes what appears to be his face on the background of his own phone. The supposed hacker tweeted out cryptocurrency advice for McAfee's account, something he had been doing daily, but has since scaled back.

McAfee blames "Twitter's security," not his own potentially missteps, and notes that he is a hacking target -- which is certainly valid.

McAfee believes that Twitter's two-factor authentication -- which requires typing in a passcode sent to your phone as an added layer of security in addition to the standard password -- as the culprit. He told the BBC that a hacker intercepted the code, and then gained access to his Twitter account.

McAfee said he then deleted two-factor authentication on all his phone's accounts, should a hacker be able to intercept those pass codes, too.

Twitter declined to engage or comment on McAfee's cybersecurity woes, but underscored to the BBC Twitter's online security advice. Mashable has also reached out to Twitter for comment, but will likely receive the same link.

"All that the hacker did was compromise my Twitter account. It could have been worse," McAfee said.