Bermuda Post

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

How Twitter has been shaken by a whistleblower's allegations

How Twitter has been shaken by a whistleblower's allegations

In the days since it was first reported that former Twitter head of security Peiter "Mudge" Zatko had filed an explosive whistleblower disclosure, the company has had to confront renewed scrutiny from lawmakers, a dip in its stock price and added uncertainty in its high-stakes legal battle with billionaire Elon Musk.

In the disclosure, Zatko alleged that the company has serious security and privacy vulnerabilities that could put users, investors and US national security at risk. He also alleged that Twitter executives have misled regulators and even the company's own board about its shortcomings.

Twitter (TWTR) has criticized Zatko and broadly defended itself against the allegations, saying the disclosure paints a "false narrative" of the company and is "riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies." Zatko was fired from Twitter in January for what a company spokesperson said was "ineffective leadership and poor performance."

The slew of sharp reactions to Zatko's disclosure from lawmakers, regulators and cybersecurity industry experts, not to mention Musk's attorneys, raise the prospect that the claims could have significant and long-lasting implications for the social media company. To make matters worse, it comes at a time when Twitter has already been grappling with uncertainty among its employees, shareholders and advertisers from its pending deal with Musk.

The disclosure — which totals around 200 pages, including supporting exhibits — was sent last month to several US government agencies and congressional committees, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. CNN obtained a copy of the disclosure from a senior Democratic aide on Capitol Hill. The SEC, DOJ and FTC declined to comment.

Twitter shares fell 7% Tuesday following news of the disclosure. The company's stock was already suffering amid Musk's attempt to get out of his $44 billion deal to acquire the platform, and is now trading at just over half of its all-time high near $80 last February.

Here is a look at the fallout in the immediate aftermath of the reporting on the disclosure:


Lawmakers and regulators start asking questions

On Wednesday, the day after the disclosure was first reported by CNN and The Washington Post, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced it would hold a hearing with Zatko to discuss his allegations of security failures and misleading statements by Twitter executives.

The hearing is slated for September 13, which just so happens to be the same day Twitter shareholders are set to vote on whether to approve Musk's $44 billion takeover deal.

"Mr. Zatko's allegations of widespread security failures and foreign state actor interference at Twitter raise serious concerns," said Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley, the committee's chair and ranking Republican, respectively.

"If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world."

Other US lawmakers have also weighed in on the matter.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which received a copy of the report, is taking the disclosure seriously and is setting a meeting to discuss the allegations, according to Rachel Cohen, a committee spokesperson. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, wrote a letter to the FTC on Tuesday calling on the agency to investigate the claims, and impose fines and individual liability on specific Twitter executives if a probe finds they were responsible for security lapses. Sen. Ron Wyden on Wednesday renewed calls for Twitter to protect its users' direct messages from prying eyes with secure, end-to-end encryption.

Members of the US House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday sent Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal a letter demanding that he address Zatko's allegations and explain Twitter's readiness for the 2022 midterms. And Twitter's main regulator in Europe, the Irish Data Protection Commission, has also said it is seeking information from the company in light of the allegations.


Implications for the Twitter-Musk Trial

The whistleblower disclosure could have major ramifications for Twitter's fight with Musk over their acquisition deal. But the Tesla CEO has been uncharacteristically quiet in the days since the news broke.

On Tuesday, Musk tweeted a meme of Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio's conscience in the Disney classic) with the words "give a little whistle," as well as a screenshot of a portion of a Washington Post story discussing Twitter's process for measuring spam bots. The latter issue has become central to Musk's attempt to exit the deal. (Twitter has said it stands by its publicly reported measurements and has accused Musk of using bots as a pretext to get out of a deal he now has buyer's remorse over.)

But while Musk has said little about Zatko, his lawyers are clearly interested in the former Twitter head of security. Musk lawyer Alex Spiro told CNN Tuesday that the billionaire's legal team had subpoenaed Zatko in the case even before news of the disclosure was reported.

In a Wednesday court hearing in the case, Spiro mentioned Zatko multiple times, in an early preview of how Musk's side might use the new allegations in his legal battle. Spiro suggested during the hearing that the billionaire's team does not trust Twitter's estimate for spam accounts and monetizable daily active users (mDAU), a key metric it provides to investors, and said Musk's team is requesting information that would allow them to test the measurements.

They have an economic incentive to mislead," Spiro said. "There's a whistleblower complaint that has now been filed publicly that talks about the false information provided."

In the disclosure, Zatko claimed that Twitter does not have an accurate count of the number of spam and fake bot accounts on its platform and that the company has little incentive to undertake a full count of such accounts, allegations that could potentially burnish Musk's claims. Musk's lawyers could also attempt to seize on other claims in the disclosure unrelated to bots — including allegations that Twitter made misrepresentations to regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission about its privacy and security practices — as additional reasons he should be able to walk away from the deal.

(Zatko told CNN that his disclosure is unrelated to the acquisition, that he has no personal relationship with Musk and that he began documenting the concerns that would become his disclosure before there was any indication of Musk's involvement with Twitter.)

Twitter says that it allows bots on its platform, such as good bots that tweet out news alerts, but its rules prohibit those that engage in spam or platform manipulation. The company says it regularly challenges, suspends and removes accounts engaged in spam and platform manipulation, including typically removing more than one million spam accounts each day. It declined to answer questions from CNN about the total number of accounts on the platform or total new accounts added each day.


Reassuring employees

Twitter executives have been pushing back against the allegations publicly, and trying to stem the fallout internally.
Agrawal on Tuesday wrote an internal memo to employees, vowing to challenge the allegations in the disclosure and seeking to reassure employees, calling the allegations "frustrating and confusing to read."

The situation also came up in a regularly scheduled, company-wide meeting at Twitter on Wednesday. Agrawal opened the meeting by pushing back on claims made by Zatko, saying a "false narrative" has been created about the company, which "is currently challenging our integrity." Details of the call were shared with CNN by a Twitter employee.

In the meeting Wednesday, Sean Edgett, Twitter's general counsel, said the company reached out to regulators and "various agencies around the world" when the company learned about the allegations being made by Zatko.

On Thursday, Twitter confirmed to CNN that it will combine its teams working to prevent toxic content and spam bots in order to better fight bad actors and increase transparency around its efforts to improve platform health, a move first reported by Reuters. A spokesperson did not directly respond to a question about whether the reorganization is related to the disclosure.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×