Twitter Dismisses Whistleblower's Claim Of Sensitive User Data Breach, Terms Allegation ‘False Narrative'

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal dismissed Zatko's claims as a "false narrative" and called it "frustrating and confusing to read".

Twitter whistleblower raises security concerns

Source : Getty

New Delhi: Twitter has stirred a fresh row after a whistleblower complaint, filed by former Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko, alleged that the Indian government forced the social media network to put an agent of its own on the firm's payroll. The former Twitter executive also alleged that the Government of India had access to sensitive user data. In a disclosure with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Peiter Zatko raised the issue among multiple other security lapse claims against Twitter.

Twitter's Response To Whistle Blowers' Allegations

The claims levelled against Twitter have been rejected by the microblogging site, which called it a "false narrative".

"What we've seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement issued in response to Zatko's allegations. 

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal dismissed Zatko's claims as a "false narrative" that is "frustrating and confusing to read", according to a report in CNBC.

The report mentioned the internal email sent by Agrawal to employees in which he said the company is reviewing the redacted claims that have been published.   

NEW: First time Twitter CEO @paraga weighs in on whistleblower story.

Sending this message to staff this morning. pic.twitter.com/WY4TCqbA5q

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August 23, 2022

Shocking Claims By Former Twitter Security Chief

Peiter Zatko said the Indian government's agent had access to sensitive user data due to Twitter's weak security infrastructure, as per the redacted version of the complaint uploaded by the Washington Post newspaper and verified by Zatko's attorney at Whistleblower Aid.

"The company did not in fact disclose to users that it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll," Zatko's complaint noted.

Zatko, who reported directly to the CEO, was fired by Twitter in January this year over "poor performance".

Twitter is embroiled in a legal challenge against the Indian government after it asked a local court in July to overturn some government orders related to removing content from the social media platform and alleged abuse of power by officials. 

The next hearing in the case is set for Thursday.