Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko claims the company allows too many employees access to its central controls so they can handle a lot of information and even give it to foreign intelligence services.
The former head of security Twitter Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko He denounced this Tuesday before the United States Senate that the company is unable to protect the data of users of the social network and that it has no interest in doing so.
“I’m here today because the Twitter address is misleading people”Zatko said at the beginning of his appearance before the Judicial Committee of the Upper House.
The former executive, worked for Twitter between November 2020 and January of this year, he stated that the company “does not know how much information it has, where it has it and where it comes from, so it cannot protect it”.
In addition, he stated that the employees “They have too much access to too much information and too many systems.”
“An employee within the company could take over the accounts of all the senators in this room,” the former security chief told the committee.
Zatko assured that he “repeatedly” notified the company’s management about the security flaws and that he decided to denounce him because they did not listen to him.
“Twitter’s security flaws threaten national security, compromise users’ privacy and security, and sometimes threaten the future of the company,” said.
Serious cybersecurity issues
Zatko denounced last July before the US Congress and several federal agencies serious cybersecurity problems in the social network.
According to his complaint, to which ‘The Washington Post’ newspaper and CNN had access, the company allows too many employees access their central controls.
He also assured that one or more workers may be working for foreign intelligence services and that company executives have lied to regulators about security deficiencies.
Zatko further argues that Twitter does not properly delete the data of users who cancel their accountssometimes because they have lost the information, and they have neither the resources nor the interest in really knowing the number of “bots” in the social network.
The bot issue is at the center of the trial that will face Twitter and the billionaire Elon Musk, after he decided to cancel the purchase of the company, alleging that he has not told the truth about the number of false accounts on the social network.
According to Twitter, whose CEO Parag Agrawal has refused to appear before the Senate Committee, Zatko lost his job because of “ineffective leadership and “poor performance” on his assignments.