Twitter's former top security official has alleged that the social media company has major security problems that threaten national security and democracy.
The former official, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, revealed in an exclusive interview with The Washington Post that the executives of Twitter systematically misled users, investors, government officials, and members of its board about the security and privacy vulnerabilities of the company.
Twitter's Reckless Environment
According to The Washington Post, Zatko revealed Twitter's reckless and chaotic environment as it allowed too many of its staff to access the platform's central controls.
Zatko also said that some of the company's senior-most executives have covered up the company's vulnerabilities and that dozens of employees are working for a foreign intelligence service.
The whistleblower was Twitter's former head of security and reported directly to the company's then CEO, Jack Dorsey.
Zatko further alleges that the company's leadership has misled its board and government regulators about its privacy and security vulnerabilities, including those that could cause foreign manipulation, hacking, and disinformation campaigns.
The whistleblower said the company does not properly delete the personal information of its users in the system after they cancel their accounts.
Twitter also does not have the resources and tools to know the actual number of bots on the platform, and the company executives are not motivated to fix this issue.
Zatko's claims are similar to Elon Musk's accusations against Twitter when he backed out of the $44 billion deal to purchase the company, according to Business Insider.
Twitter Fights Back
In January, Twitter claimed that Zatko was fired due to poor performance. However, Zatko claimed he was fired after he tried to flag the security lapses to the company's board.
He also attempted to help fix years of technical shortcomings and correct the company's non-compliance with a privacy agreement with the Federal Trade Commission or FTC.
After deciding to go public with his claims, he was backed by Whistleblower Aid, the same group representing Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
The founder of Whistleblower Aid, John Tye, told CNN that Zatko has not talked to Musk regarding Twitter's privacy and security issues and that he started the whistleblower process before Musk's involvement with Twitter.
Meanwhile, Twitter released a statement to clarify Zatko's claims. A Twitter spokesperson told CNN that the company prioritizes the privacy and security of its users.
The spokesperson also said that Twitter provides clear tools for users to control privacy, data sharing, and ad targeting.
The company has created internal workflows to ensure users know their data is deleted when they cancel their accounts on the platform.
Zatko's Relationship with Agrawal
According to CNN, some of Zatko's claims spring from his tense relationship with Twitter's current CEO, Parag Agrawal.
Agrawal repeatedly discouraged Zatko from providing a full accounting of Twitter's security issues to the company's board of directors.
The company's executive team allegedly instructed Zatko to provide an oral report of his findings on the company's condition to the board instead of a detailed written account.
The executives also allegedly ordered Zatko to create a false perception of progress on cybersecurity issues and hired a third-party consulting form to hide the true extent of the company's problems.
Zatko said that he decided to step forward and go public with Twitter's problems because he believes it is the right thing to do for the sake of democracy.
Related Article: Twitter is Reportedly Deleting One Million Bot Accounts Per Day | What Does Elon Musk Say About This?
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
