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Twitter covered up fake accounts and security flaws, says US whistleblower

Wednesday, 24 August 2022 5:31 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 5:47 AM ]

Twitter has long been criticized for its leaky security of user data, but the company's ex-head of security says the company has been lying to customers and officials for years about attempts to fix the issue. (Via Shutterstock)

American social media giant Twitter has been accused of hiding major security flaws as a whistleblower said the platform has been lying to customers and officials for years about its attempts to fix its leaky security of user data.

Twitter misled federal regulators over its cyber security defenses against hackers and spam accounts, and significantly underestimates the number of fake accounts, the platform's ex-security chief Peiter Zatko said in whistleblower testimony.

Zatko's filing, which includes market watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Twitter of "negligence, willful ignorance, and threats to national security and democracy."

Twitter's ex-security chief also warned of obsolete servers, software vulnerable to computer attacks and executives seeking to hide the number of hacking attempts.

The filing said Twitter prioritizes growing its user base over fighting spam and bots,

Zatko accused the platform and its CEO Parag Agrawal of issuing untrue statements on account numbers because "if accurate measurements ever became public, it would harm the image and valuation of the company."

Twitter said in a statement that, "What we've seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context."

The issue of Twitter's fake accounts has become a crucial point in US billionaire Elon Musk 's argument for canceling his $44 billion deal to buy the company.

Elon Musk accuses Twitter of fraud as buyout battle escalates

Elon Musk has accused Twitter of fraud, alleging the social media platform misled him about key aspects of its business before he agreed to a $44 billion buyout, as their court fight heats up.

Musk has repeatedly accused the company of minimizing the number of bot accounts on its platform, and he tweeted Tuesday "spam prevalence *was* shared with the board, but the board chose not disclose that to the public..."

US lawmakers immediately raised concerns about the allegations in Zatko's filing and have pledged to look into them.

"If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world," Senator Dick Durbin said in a statement.

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