Twitter's Former Chief Of Security Claims Spies Are Working There, Elon Is Right About Bots And The Company Is A National Security Threat

A famous cybersecurity expert hired by Twitter as its Chief of Security in 2020 has stepped forward as a whistleblower to point out what he alleges are unsafe and irresponsible security practices at the company.

Peter Zatko was reportedly one of the “top five or six executives at the company." He previously worked in top-level posts at the Department of Defense and was hired in 2020 after some high-profile hacks of Twitter accounts.

#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

Last month, Zatko (mostly known as Mudge) wrote a 200-page report for Congress about purported security issues at Twitter. An unnamed Democrat then passed it on to CNN and the Washington Post. In the report, Mudge claims that thousands of the company's employees have access to Twitter’s set of main controls and argues that makes it so there are too many ways for hackers to get into the social network's "cockpit."

He also alleges that nobody at Twitter really understands how the company’s data management structure works and there are likely spies for foreign governments working there.

The fact that mudge, a legendary hacker from the infamous hacking group The L0pht, is blowing the whistle on twitter, saying they have poor security & data retention practices and may have senior employees who work for foreign intel agencies is nothing short of a bombshell. https://t.co/3qxjzQAS0L

— chip goines (@chipgoines) August 23, 2022

The claim that spies work at Twitter struck a nerve because two weeks ago, former Twitter manager Ahmad Abouammo was convicted in federal court for money laundering and fraud. Abouammo received gifts and money from a close advisor to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, and in return, he allegedly accessed the Twitter accounts of Saudi dissidents and sold their personal information to the regime. The prosecutors also implicated another Twitter employee who since left the country and suggested there could be more involved.

Holy shit https://t.co/wGcjgqsLJj pic.twitter.com/TKeNLLnyFK

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) August 23, 2022

In his report, Mudge also said that he believed the Indian government forced Twitter to hire a spy who would give information back to the government during protests and unrest. Mudge also alleged that Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal had wanted, prior to the invasion of Ukraine, for the company to comply with the Russian government’s request that it censor anti-regime content.

The picture Mudge paints of Twitter is that of a social media company desperate for growth in foreign markets where the cost of doing business is collaboration with local authoritarian leaders. Mudge, who is a notable “ethical hacker” (or "white hat" hacker) and former government employee, seems to believe that Twitter behaving in this way will negatively impact human rights worldwide, as well as the national security of the United States.

I believe Mudge. https://t.co/jIrWfoUVjj

— Ian Coldwater 📦💥 (@IanColdwater) August 23, 2022

Mudge also agreed with Elon Musk, saying there are more bots on the platform than Twitter admits. Musk's lawyers have reportedly already asked Mudge to testify in the court case around Elon Musk's troubled purchase of the company. Mudge's whistleblower report has little to do with Musk, however, as he was fired in January from Twitter after voicing his concerns internally, and blames the company’s CEO for trying to hide security failures from the board.

There is so much misinformation. Peiter "Mudge" Zatko began the whistleblower process before there was any indication of Musk's involvement with Twitter.

— Christopher Bouzy (@cbouzy) August 23, 2022

Twitter pushed back on the Mudge allegations, saying Mudge was fired for “poor performance.”

NEW: First time Twitter CEO @paraga weighs in on whistleblower story. Sending this message to staff this morning. pic.twitter.com/WY4TCqbA5q

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August 23, 2022

Twitter executives writing down PII of people who praise Mudge (2022, colorized) pic.twitter.com/GMbckuWcoH

— vx-underground (@vxunderground) August 23, 2022

Manipulation of social media is a tactic already used by leaders around the world seeking to both squash internal dissent and to strike at neighbors and rivals. Mudge’s contention that vulnerabilities at Twitter are also vulnerabilities to the United States adds another layer to the ongoing conversation and complicates the problem of how to steer social media platforms.