Ex-Twitter exec blows the whistle, alleging reckless and negligent cybersecurity policies

The whistleblower disclosure alleges a pattern of security failures and noncompliance with federal privacy laws at Twitter. The report claims that the social media company’s security problems are so severe as to undermine US national security, and cites specific evidence provided by the US government before Zatko’s firing in January that at least one employee was working for another government’s intelligence service. The disclosure also suggests that Twitter may have foreign spies currently on its payroll.

Additionally, the report alleges that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal proposed that Twitter comply with Russian demands that could result in broad-based censorship or surveillance of the platform. This would be a particularly worrisome move given the company’s previous commitment to upholding free speech values and resisting authoritarian pressure.

Finally, the disclosure claims that Twitter has failed to accurately measure the prevalence of bots on its platform, and argues that by reporting bots only as a percentage of monetizable daily active users (mDAUs), rather than as a percentage of the total number of accounts on the platform, Twitter obscures the true scale of fake and spam accounts on the service.

Overall, these allegations paint a troubling picture of Twitter’s security practices and its compliance with federal laws and norms, and raise serious concerns about the company’s ability to protect user data and prevent foreign intelligence interference in US political processes.