Twitter whistleblower tells Congress about company’s alleged corporate failure | Twitter
a twitter A whistleblower who accused the company of having “serious” security flaws began testifying before Congress on Tuesday, expanding the corporate failure allegations he filed with federal agencies in August.
Former hacker Peiter “Mudge” Zatko served as Twitter’s head of security from 2020 until his dismissal in 2022, during which he said he witnessed “extreme and significant flaws by Twitter in all areas of his mission.” says.
His complaint included allegations that Twitter was running outdated and vulnerable software on more than half of its data center servers, and that the platform was compromised by foreign intelligence services in “multiple episodes.” .
The complaint was filed in August with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission, and has been heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said in a statement, “Zatko’s widespread security failures and allegations of interference on Twitter by foreign parties are of grave concern. is causing,” he said. “If these claims are accurate, they could represent dangerous data privacy and security risks for his Twitter users around the world.”
Zatko also accuses Twitter of doing little to address the spambot problem. The billionaire reversed course in his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, citing concerns about the number of fraudulent accounts.
Jasmine Ember, principal analyst at the market research firm, said the hearing was the latest to put Big Tech on the hot seat as companies in the industry are increasingly under attack due to their sheer power. and came at a time when Twitter faces renewed scrutiny over its news manipulation. insider intelligence.
“Twitter has a huge impact on global politics and events, and even tried to reposition itself as a news app a few years ago,” she said. “The complaint has already come to the attention of regulators, [Zatko’s] Testimony could add new fuel to the fire. ”
Zatko is the latest whistleblower against Big Tech. bomb revelation In 2021, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen accused the company of intentionally harming users.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but an earlier public statement said Zatko was just a disgruntled former employee.
“We have seen misrepresentations of Twitter and its privacy and data security practices that are full of contradictions, inaccuracies, and lack important context,” the company said. “Zatko’s allegations and opportunistic timing appear intended to draw attention and harm Twitter, its customers and shareholders.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/13/twitter-whistleblower-testimony-congress-peiter-zatko Twitter whistleblower tells Congress about company’s alleged corporate failure | Twitter