Topline
Twitter’s former head of cybersecurity accused the social media company of committing fraud and numerous “egregious” security violations in an explosive whistleblower complaint revealed Tuesday, shaking confidence in the much-maligned platform and sending its stock spiraling.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal
Key Facts
Peiter Zatko, a well-known hacker known as “Mudge” who worked at Twitter from 2020 until he was fired in January 2022, filed the complaint with the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission last month, first reported on by the Washington Post and CNN.
Zatko, who is represented by the legal group Whistleblower Aid, alleged in the complaint published by the Post that Twitter misled investors, users and the federal government.
Twitter intentionally undercounted the proportion of “bots” or fake and spam accounts on its platform by incentivizing executives to pursue a policy of “deliberate ignorance,” Zatko alleged, referencing Elon Musk’s ongoing attempt to walk away from his $44 billion purchase of the company over his insistence that more than 5% of Twitter accounts were bots like the company maintains.
Zatko claimed Twitter has made repeated “false and misleading statements” to the FTC about its user security and privacy measures, and that he refused Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s instruction to present “false and misleading” documents to the company’s board, leading to Zatko’s firing (a Twitter spokesperson attributed the dismissal to performance issues).
Among Zatko’s more contentious assertions is that the company knowingly hired an agent of the Indian government, giving a foreign government widespread access to user data.
Chief Critic
Agrawal called the allegations a “false narrative riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and presented without important context” in a note to employees Tuesday morning obtained by CNN.
Big Number
4.5%. That’s how much Twitter stock is down in Tuesday morning trading amid a broader market rise.
What To Watch For
Zatko was subpoenaed by Musk’s legal team as part of the October trial between the billionaire and Twitter over his deal to buy the company, one of Musk’s lawyers Alex Spiro told the New York Times, saying he found Zatko’s firing “curious.”
Further Viewing
Further Reading
Former security chief claims Twitter buried ‘egregious deficiencies’ (Washington Post)
Ex-Twitter exec blows the whistle, alleging reckless and negligent cybersecurity policies (CNN)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/08/23/twitter-whistleblower-heres-what-former-security-chief-peiter-zatko-claims/