Twitter Had at Least One Chinese Agent Working at the Company, Whistleblower Says: Report

Twitter's former security chief Peiter Zatko previously alleged that the firm misled regulators about the company's security practices as part of a 2011 settlement.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 13 September 2022 20:23 IST

Twitter Had at Least One Chinese Agent Working at the Company, Whistleblower Says: Report

Photo Credit: Reuters

Elon Musk has attempted to use the whistleblower's claims to terminate the Twitter deal

Highlights

Twitter's former security chief will soon testify before the US Senate
Peiter Zatko has alleged a Twitter employee worked on behalf of China
Twitter is set to face off with Elon Musk in a US court next month

Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko's disclosures reveal that there was at least one Chinese agent working at the microblogging platform, according to a report quoting a US Senator during a hearing where the whistleblower is set to begin testifying before a US Senate Committee. The whistleblower, who previously worked as Twitter's security chief, has made allegations of serious security flaws at the company. The hearing will take place a month before Twitter faces off with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in court over his decision to walk away from the $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,49,900 crore) takeover deal.

According to a report by Reuters, US Senator Chuck Grassley's opening remarks on Tuesday at the Senate hearing revealed that disclosures from Zatko indicated that at least one Chinese agent was employed at the company. The popular hacker is scheduled to provide testimony about his allegations against his former employer.

It was previously reported that Zatko had alleged that Twitter had misled the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the company's security measures as part of an agreement in 2011. He has also alleged that Twitter has serious security flaws affecting the platform, and that one or more employees were working on behalf of foreign governments.

Twitter has previously stated that the allegations from Zatko, who was fired for "ineffective leadership and poor performance," appeared to be designed to harm the company.

The company's shareholders are expected to vote on the takeover deal by Tuesday, ahead of the upcoming trial next month, when the company will face of with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in court on October 17.

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Further reading: Twitter, Peiter Zatko

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More