online network
Ex-Twitter manager accuses service of weak security
A former Twitter security chief now accuses the online service of taking insufficient measures to protect users. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Criticism from former employees often hits companies particularly hard. It’s no different with Twitter, which is why the online service accuses a former manager of wanting to harm the company.
A former Twitter security chief now accuses the online service of taking insufficient measures to protect users. Peiter Zatko, who was fired from the company in January, filed a whistleblowing complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. One of his criticisms is that too many Twitter employees have access to the service’s central systems and user data such as telephone numbers. Twitter rejected the allegations and accused Zatko in return of wanting to harm his former employer with the allegations.
The complaint, which was filed in July, became known on Tuesday after the TV broadcaster CNN and the Washington Post had access to the paper and Zatko gave interviews to the two media. 51-year-old Zatko was once known as a hacker. Twitter co-founder and longtime boss Jack Dorsey hired him in 2020 to help improve the platform’s security.
One of Zatko’s allegations could also play a role in the current struggle between Twitter and tech billionaire Elon Musk. He claims that the company has no reliable methods to determine the number of fake accounts on the platform. Musk made the issue of fake profiles and automated bot accounts a key argument in his attempt to exit the roughly $44 billion Twitter acquisition. Twitter wants the court to have Musk obliged to complete the deal.
For years, Twitter has been estimating that the number of fake accounts is less than five percent. Musk claims there must be a lot more – and accuses the service of denying him access to data with which to prove it. At the same time, Twitter always made it clear that the number was only based on an estimate and also stated that a million fake profiles were deleted every day.
A Twitter spokeswoman told the Washington Post and CNN that while the company does not have access to Zatko’s detailed allegations, it has found that they contain many “inaccuracies.” Twitter continues to stand by the information provided so far and Zatko was fired for “poor performance”.
Washington Post report Washington Post interview CNN report