{"id":1621569,"date":"2022-08-25T19:18:02","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T23:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1621569"},"modified":"2022-08-25T19:18:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T23:18:40","slug":"lawmakers-investigating-twitter-whistleblowers-explosive-security-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-investigating-twitter-whistleblowers-explosive-security-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers Investigating Twitter Whistleblower\u2019s Explosive Security Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flawmakers-investigating-twitter-whistleblowers-explosive-security-claims%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1621569&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Congressional lawmakers are probing allegations made by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-twitter\">Twitter<\/a>\u2019s former chief of security in an explosive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-whistleblower\">whistleblower<\/a> complaint that includes claims of deception related to data security and privacy and misleading tech entrepreneur Elon Musk about the number of bots on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>Peiter Zatko, the whistleblower who served as Twitter\u2019s head of security for about 14 months before being fired earlier this year, asserted in a disclosure obtained by The Epoch Times that Twitter\u2019s security and privacy systems were grossly inadequate and that the company misled regulators, investors, and Musk about fake \u201cspam\u201d bots on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>While Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has called Zatko\u2019s claims a \u201cfalse narrative,\u201d U.S. lawmakers appear determined to make up their own minds and are investigating.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Serious Concerns\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that he is looking into Zatko\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whistleblower\u2019s 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will continue investigating this issue and take further steps as needed to get to the bottom of these alarming allegations,\u201d he said, adding that if the whistleblower\u2019s claims are accurate, there may be \u201cdangerous\u201d risks for Twitter users in terms of data privacy and security.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.markey.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/letter_to_federal_regulators_on_twitter_whistleblower_allegationspdf.pdf\">pdf<\/a>) to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice expressing \u201csignificant concerns\u201d about the whistleblower\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to Peiter Zatko, Twitter\u2019s former head of security, Twitter has systematically and repeatedly failed to take basic security measures to protect its user data and has misled investors, regulators, and the public about the strength of its security systems,\u201d Markey said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Markey added that Zatko\u2019s allegations suggest that Twitter has again \u201cflagrantly violated\u201d its consent decree with the FTC, just months after the company agreed to pay a $150 million penalty for failing to keep Twitter users\u2019 data secure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI strongly urge the federal government to investigate Zatko\u2019s claims and, if necessary, take strong and swift action against Twitter to ensure Twitter user data is properly protected,\u201d the senator wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement that he was \u201ccarefully reviewing this whistleblower disclosure and assessing next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese allegations are alarming and reaffirm the need to pass my comprehensive privacy legislation to protect Americans\u2019 online data,\u201d Pallone added, <a href=\"https:\/\/energycommerce.house.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/pallone-opening-remarks-at-subcommittee-markup-of-bipartisan-bicameral\">referring to<\/a> the\u00a0American Data Privacy and Protection Act that he co-sponsored.<\/p>\n<p>Several other lawmakers have issued similar statements.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter officials didn\u2019t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on Zatko\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4647849\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/06\/parag-agrawal-1200x873.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4647849\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/06\/parag-agrawal-1200x873.jpg\" alt=\"parag-agrawal\" width=\"640\" height=\"466\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Parag Agrawal, CEO of Twitter, walks to a morning session during the Allen &#038; Co. Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, on July 7, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018False Narrative\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Twitter spokesperson Anna Hughes was cited by The Washington Post as saying that Zatko\u2019s complaint seems to contain \u201cinconsistencies and inaccuracies\u201d and takes things out of context.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Zatko\u2019s allegations and opportunistic timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders,\u201d she said, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Agrawal\u00a0also pushed back on Zatko\u2019s claims, reportedly writing in a message to staff that was <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/donie\/status\/1562069281545900033?s=20&amp;t=6RhHI-NSJridzLa9-SBlrA\">shared on social<\/a> media by CNN\u2019s Donie O\u2019Sullivan that the whistleblower\u2019s complaint appears to be a \u201cfalse narrative that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and presented without important context.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will pursue all paths to defend our integrity as a company and set the record straight,\u201d Agrawal wrote.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Takeaways from Whistleblower Complaint<\/h2>\n<p>Zatko claims that, despite Twitter agreeing in its settlement with the FTC to put in place stronger data security protections, the situation over time actually became worse.<\/p>\n<p>His complaint alleges that Twitter\u2019s internal systems let far too many employees access users\u2019 personal data that they didn\u2019t need for their jobs, opening the door to potential abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Experts who were deeply familiar with Twitter\u2019s problems with the FTC told Zatko \u201cunequivocally that Twitter had never been in compliance with the 2011 FTC Consent Order, and was not on track to ever achieve full compliance,\u201d the complaint reads.<\/p>\n<p>Zatko\u2019s disclosure also claims that Twitter had difficulty identifying\u2014much less restricting\u2014the presence of foreign agents on its platform, while alleging that Chinese entities gave money to Twitter, raising concerns that these entities could access sensitive information about Twitter users.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also claims Twitter experienced server vulnerabilities, alleging that over 50 percent of Twitter\u2019s 500,000 data center servers had kernels or operating systems that were non-compliant and many had problems with encryption.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4647477\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI7503P-FILEDIMAGE-e1659785233282-1200x714-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-4647477\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI7503P-FILEDIMAGE-e1659785233282-1200x714-1.jpg\" alt=\"1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI7503P-FILEDIMAGE\" width=\"640\" height=\"381\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4647477\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI7503P-FILEDIMAGE-e1659785233282-1200x714-1.jpg\" alt=\"1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI7503P-FILEDIMAGE\" width=\"640\" height=\"381\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> An image of Elon Musk is seen on smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken on April 28, 2022. (Dado Ruvic\/Illustration\/Reuters)<\/figure>\n<p>Zatko\u2019s complaint also states that Musk, who\u2019s embroiled in a legal fight with Twitter over his backing out of a deal to buy the platform for $44 billion, was right in claiming that Twitter executives have little incentive to carry out accurate measurements of the amount of fake accounts and spam bots on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenior management had no appetite to properly measure the prevalence of bot accounts,\u201d Zatko\u2019s complaint states.<\/p>\n<p>It alleges that Twitter executives were concerned that accurate bot counts would be damaging to Twitter\u2019s \u201cimage and valuation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zatko\u2019s disclosure also includes the allegation that the true number of spam accounts and bots on Twitter is probably \u201cmeaningfully higher\u201d that the 5 percent of daily monetizable users that the social media firm claims.<\/p>\n<p>Key to Musk\u2019s backing out of the buyout agreement is his claim that Twitter\u2019s longstanding position that spam accounts and bots make up fewer than 5 percent of monetizable daily users is a fallacy.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter has repeatedly insisted that its 5 percent estimate is accurate.<\/p>\n<p>The two sides are scheduled to go to trial in October in a Delaware court, with experts saying Zatko\u2019s disclosure could give Musk\u2019s legal team more ammunition in their legal fight against Twitter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tom-ozimek\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Tom-Ozimek.jpg\" alt=\"Tom Ozimek\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tom Ozimek has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education. The best writing advice he&#8217;s ever heard is from Roy Peter Clark: &#8216;Hit your target&#8217; and &#8216;leave the best for last.&#8217;\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congressional lawmakers are probing allegations made by Twitter\u2019s former chief of security in an explosive whistleblower complaint that includes claims of deception related to data security and privacy and misleading<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1621571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1621569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1621569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1621569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1621569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1621569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1621569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1621569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}