Twitter security problems a major threat to users' personal data and national security, alleges whistleblower

A whistleblower disclosure, which is obtained exclusively by CNN and The Washington Post, reveals explosivesecurity issues related to the micro-blogging site, Twitter. The disclosure was last month sent to Congress and federal agencies.

In the disclosure, it is mentioned that Twitter has security problems which are apparently threatening its users' personal information. Apart from that, it poses risk to company shareholders, national security and also to democracy.

The whistleblower has been identified as Peiter "Mudge" Zatko. The report mentions that Zatko was previously the company's head of security and was reporting directly to the CEO.

Zatko has revealed to the media outlets that the company allows more than necessary staff members to have access to the platform's central controls and most sensitive information without adequate oversight.

The report even states that some of the senior-most executives of the company are trying to cover up Twitter's serious vulnerabilities.

It is also reported that may be one or more current employees may be working for a foreign intelligence service.

Among other serious allegations, Zatko mentioned that Twitter's own board and other government regulators have been deceived by the company's leadership about the security vulnerabilities.

Some issues could even lead to foreign spying or manipulation, hacking and disinformation campaigns, the report added.

Zatko was fired by Twitter in January for alleged claims that his performance was poor. The report said that Zatko made his claims public so that the security lapses are made known to Twitter's board. It will also help the social media company to help fix years of technical shortcomings.

Is there any Elon Musk connection?

Zatko has been represented by Whistleblower Aid. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen was also represented by the same group.

John Tye, who is the founder of Whistleblower Aid, told CNN that Zatko has not been in contact with Tesla and Space CEO Elon Musk, who bid to buy Twitter but the deal was not completed.

Musk is now engaged in a legal battle with Twitter after the Tesla chief backed out of buying the company.

Twitter's reaction

In response to the claims, a Twitter spokesperson told CNN in a statement that security and privacy are both longtime priorities for the company.

The Twitter spokesperson said: "Mr. Zatko was fired from his senior executive role at Twitter for poor performance and ineffective leadership over six months ago."

"While we haven't had access to the specific allegations being referenced, what we've seen so far is a narrative about our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and lacks important context," the statement read.

"Mr. Zatko's allegations and opportunistic timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders. Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and we still have a lot of work ahead of us," the statement added.

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