A tough day for Twitter. | Alex Castro / The Verge
Twitter has hidden negligent security practices, misled federal regulators about its safety, and failed to properly estimate the number of bots on its platform, according to testimony from the company’s former head of security, the legendary hacker-turned-cybersecurity-expert Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. The explosive allegations have huge potential consequences, including federal fines and the unravelling of Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter.
Zatko was fired by Twitter in January, and claims that this was retaliation for his refusal to stay quiet about the company’s vulnerabilities. Last month, he filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that accuses Twitter of deceiving shareholders and violating an agreement it made with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to uphold certain security standards. His complaints, totaling more than 200 pages, were obtained by CNN and The Washington Post and published in redacted form this morning.
In an interview with CNN, Zatko said he joined Twitter in 2020 at the bequest of then-CEO Jack Dorsey, right after the company was hit by a massive hack in which accounts belonging to figures like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Kanye West were compromised. Zatko says he joined Twitter because he believes the platform is a “critical resource” for the world, but became disillusioned by the refusal of CEO Parag Agrawal to tackle the company’s many security failings.
“This would never be my first step, but I believe I am still fulfilling my obligation to Jack and to users of the platform,” Zatko told The Washington Post regarding his decision to become a whistleblower. “I want to finish the job Jack brought me in for, which is to improve the place.”
#BREAK A former Twitter executive, its head of security, has turned whistleblower.
He alleges grave security problems at the company that he says are a risk to national security and democracy.
His first TV interview here:https://t.co/QU823RBnN1 pic.twitter.com/krh7WVOrhe
— Donie O’Sullivan (@donie) August 23, 2022
Zatko’s disclosures to the SEC contain many damning reports and accusations, but these are some of the most significant:
Indiscriminate access. A significant part of Twitter’s vulnerability is that too many employees have access to critical systems, claims Zatko in his complaint. It states that around half of Twitter’s 7,000 or so full-time employees have access to users’ sensitive personal data (like phone numbers) and internal software (to alter how the service works), and that this access is not closely monitored. He also alleges that thousands of laptops contain complete copies of Twitter’s source code.
Misleading the FTC. In 2010, Twitter settled charges with the FTC that it failed to protect consumers’ personal information — a significant and early example of government regulators reining in Big Tech. Zatko’s complaint claims Twitter has repeatedly made “false and misleading statements” to users and the FTC, violating this agreement.
Ignoring bots. Twitter has repeatedly claimed that less than 5 percent of its monthly daily active users are bots, fake accounts, or spam. Zatko’s complaint says Twitter’s method of measuring this figure is misleading, and that executives are incentivized (with bonuses of up to $10 million) to boost user counts rather than remove spam bots.
Government agents. Twitter is a key tool for sharing news and organizing protest, making it a ripe target for governments looking to crack down on dissent. Zatko’s complaint states that he believes the Indian government forced Twitter to hire a government agent, who then had access to privileged user data.
Failure to delete. The complaint states that Twitter has, in the past, failed to delete users’ data when requested, because such records are spread too widely among internal systems to be properly tracked. A current employee told The Washington Post that the company just completed a project, known as Project Eraser, to ensure proper deletion of user data.
In response to Zatko’s complaint, Twitter has accused its former chief of security of sensationalizing and selectively presenting information. A spokesperson told CNN:
“Mr. Zatko was fired from his senior executive role at Twitter for poor performance and ineffective leadership over six months ago. While we haven’t had access to the specific allegations being referenced, what we’ve seen so far is a narrative about our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and lacks important context. Mr. Zatko’s allegations and opportunistic timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders. Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Zatko’s allegations are explosive and will have a significant effect on the company. The FTC is currently reviewing the complaint, according to sources cited by The Washington Post, and would likely levy significant fines against Twitter if Zatko’s accusations are proven to be correct.
The complaint will also affect the ongoing struggle between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter. Musk is currently trying to extricate himself from a $44 billion agreement to buy the company, justifying the decision with an accusation that Twitter is lying about the true number of bot and spam accounts on the platform. Zatko’s complaint significantly strengthens Musk’s arguments, which have previously been criticized as unfounded.