Twitter Whistleblower: 3 Shocking Revelations, from Russia’s Involvement to Chinese Money

(Photo : AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images)
A Twitter whistleblower has made several shocking revelations about the social media company's allegedly lacking security protocols. Peiter "Mudge" Zetko claims that the company is severely vulnerable to foreign government influences, including from China and Russia.

A Twitter whistleblower has made several shocking revelations that involve the social media giant, from Russia's demands to the United States to China's less than trustworthy bribes.

Peiter "Mudge" Zatko claims that Twitter is exceptionally vulnerable to exploitation by foreign governments in ways that threaten U.S. national security. He claims that there may even be foreign spies currently active on the social media company's payroll.

Twitter Whistleblower

Zatko said that a combination of weak cybersecurity controls and poor judgment has repeatedly exposed Twitter to numerous foreign intelligence risks. The whistleblower was the social media company's head of security from November 2020 until he was fired in January.

He claims that the incidents include taking money from untrusted Chinese sources to propose the company gives into Russian censorship and surveillance demands. The whistleblower alleges that Twitter executives, including now-CEO Parag Agrawal, have knowingly placed the company's users and employees at risk in the pursuit of short-term growth.

Despite the claims, Twitter did not respond to requests for comments regarding 50 distinct questions related to the overall disclosure. However, a company spokesperson said that Zatko's allegations overall are "riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and lacks important context," as per CNN.

The national security claims are part of a broader and explosive, nearly 200-page disclosure to Congress, the Justice Department, and federal regulators. It accuses Twitter's leadership of covering up critical company vulnerabilities and defrauding the public.

Zatko, a longtime cybersecurity expert who has held senior roles at Google, Stripe, and the Defense Department, submitted his disclosure to authorities last month. He sent it after what he described as months of trying to unsuccessfully sound the alarm inside the social media company about the dangers it was facing.

According to Yahoo Finance, Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. and Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee respectively, say they are "assessing next steps" following the allegations.

Damning Disclosure

The lawmakers said that the complaint underscores how important it is for Congress to protect people's data by passing consumer privacy legislation. In a Twitter post, Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin said, "The whistleblower's allegations of widespread security failures at Twitter, willful misrepresentations by top executives to government agencies, and penetration of the company by foreign intelligence raise serious concerns."

Durbin added by saying that if the claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users worldwide. The offices of Durbin and the committee's ranking member Chuck Grassley said that they have had early talks with Zatko.

Now, the Senate Intelligence Committee is also looking to set up a meeting with the whistleblower. Rebecca Hahn, a spokesperson for Twitter, said, "Security and privacy have long been top company-wide priorities at Twitter."

After Zatko's disclosure, Twitter's shares fell 7.3% to close at $39.865 as the whistleblower accuses company executives of becoming eligible to win individual bonuses of as much as $10 million tied to an increase in daily users, and nothing explicitly for cutting spam, Reuters reported.