Is the personal data we entrust to Twitter sufficiently protected? This is the question we can ask ourselves after reading the revelations published in an article published by the Washington Post.

The American media relays a complaint filed in July in the United States with the SEC (the regulator of American financial markets) and the Department of Justice, by Peiter Zatko. A well-known hacker, known by the pseudonym “Mudge”, he served as Twitter’s chief information security officer until January 2022.

In his complaint, Peiter Zatko denounces bad practices in terms of computer security. He accuses Twitter of not respecting an agreement that the platform made with the FTC (or Federal Trade Commission) 11 years ago. The platform was committed to strengthening the security of its platform.

The complaint refers to outdated and vulnerable software used by certain servers, or the fact that thousands of employees would have extensive and poorly monitored access to Twitter software. And this would have already led to the hacking of accounts of public figures.

According to the 80-page complaint, on which the article in the washington postthere would be “extreme and glaring shortcomings”.

Twitter bots and spam

In addition to security issues, these revelations could also affect the current legal battle between Twitter and Elon Musk. Indeed, the boss of Tesla wants to withdraw from the agreement to take over the microblogging platform, citing a problem with the way bots and spam accounts are counted on Twitter.

In May, Twitter CEO Parag Argrawal defended himself by explaining that the company was trying to remove as much spam as possible. But according to the former head of security, that would be a lie. Peiter Zatko explains that the company rather favors the growth of the number of users and that the leaders would be encouraged, via bonuses, to increase this number.

The social network response

Of course, Twitter denies everything. As quoted by CNBC, here’s what the company said: “What we have seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context. Peiter Zatko’s allegations and his opportunistic timing appear designed to garner attention and harm Twitter, its customers and its shareholders. Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and will continue to be. »

Will Twitter have to deal with a Cambridge Analytica-type scandal? In any case, these accusations may not be taken lightly by the American authorities.