The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to probe alleged security failures at Twitter and has subpoenaed a former Twitter executive who claims the social media company was reckless with security.
The whistleblower, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, has been subpoenaed to testify at a judiciary committee hearing Sept. 13 to address his allegations, according to Sens. Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican.
Mr. Zatko worked as Twitter’s top security official until he was fired earlier this year. He subsequently filed complaints with the federal government alleging his former employer violated rules and laws.
“Mr. Zatko’s allegations of widespread security failures and foreign state actor interference at Twitter raise serious concerns,” Mr. Durbin and Mr. Grassley said in a statement. “If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world.”
Twitter has branded Mr. Zatko’s allegations of poor cybersecurity a “false narrative” using inaccuracies. The company said earlier this week he was fired for “ineffective leadership and poor performance.”
Mr. Zatko submitted his allegations of wrongdoing in disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and Department of Justice. A Democratic aide on Capitol Hill first shared the disclosure with CNN and the Washington Post.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and his associates discouraged Mr. Zatko from sharing a full accounting of the problems with Twitter’s board, according to the disclosure reviewed by CNN. Mr. Zatko claimed he sought to flag security lapses, help fix technical problems and noncompliance with an earlier FTC agreement before filing his whistleblower disclosures.
Twitter’s security challenges are well-documented. In May, the Justice Department and FTC ordered Twitter to pay $150 million in civil penalties for alleged data privacy violations that occurred from 2013 to 2019.
Earlier this month, a federal jury found former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Zatko’s disclosure said the U.S. government gave evidence to Twitter before his firing that said at least one Twitter employee was working for a foreign intelligence service, according to CNN.
The former Twitter official is being represented by lawyers and Whistleblower Aid, an organization that previously worked with former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, who testified before Congress about the social media company’s alleged harm to children.
A redacted letter from Whistleblower Aid published by CNN requested a congressional investigation into Mr. Zatko’s claims. The recipient of the July letter was redacted, and Whistleblower Aid noted that it was withholding information from lawmakers that it provided to federal officials.
The letter said Mr. Zatko believed, “Twitter has been, at all relevant times including today, in violation of numerous laws and regulations.”
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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