Whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko worked as Twitter's chief of security from 2020 until he was fired in 2022, and says during that time he witnessed Twitter's "extreme, glaring shortcomings in every area of its mandate".
For many years, no one had anything to complain about Twitter, but at the end of 2022, facts came to light that caused this platform to struggle with PR problems. A whistleblower from Twitter, an employee of the company, testified before Congress in the US that the company has glaring security holes, and the numerous failures that occurred last year became a gateway to illegal hacking attacks by agents from around the world.
"I am here today because Twitter's leadership is misleading the public, legislators, regulators and even its own board of directors," Zatko said as he began his sworn testimony. "They don't know what data they have, where it's at or where it's coming from, so it's no wonder they can't protect it. (...) It doesn't matter who has the keys if there are no locks."
Last July, Zatko filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Congress, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that Twitter is misleading regulators and the public about its security practices. He testified under oath, citing a range of evidence he had collected during his time at Twitter. He divided his concerns into two categories: the company doesn't know enough about its own data, and employees have too much access to user data. Zatko emphasized that the company focuses only on profits, not caring about the safety of not only its users, but also the entire country - the United States.
The whistleblower stated that he had caught one Twitter employee who was a secret agent of another country, wanting to obtain unfavorable and dangerous information for the US. When he reported the situation, he was fired by his employer. During the whistleblower hearing, US lawmakers expressed the need for more regulation of Twitter and other social media companies. Senator Richard Blumenthal also suggested the need for a new regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Justice that would "focus more on privacy, security, user protection, and the national security of the country".
