[US] India forced Twitter to put a government agent on payroll

According to a whistleblower disclosure with U.S. regulators, a former Twitter Inc security chief has alleged that the Indian government forced the social media giant to put a government agent on its payroll, Reuters reports.

Peiter 'Mudge' Zatko raised the issue with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, among other security lapse claims at Twitter. 

He reportedly said that the government agent would have had access to sensitive user data as a result of Twitter's weak security infrastructure, according to a redacted version of the complaint uploaded by the Washington Post and verified by Zatko's attorney at Whistleblower Aid.

A company source told Reuters that the allegations about the Indian government had surfaced previously within Twitter. They did not elaborate.

Representatives for India's IT ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement regarding Mr Zatko's allegations, a Twitter spokesperson said, "What we've 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." 

Twitter is engaged in a legal challenge against the Indian government following its July request for a local court to overturn some government orders to remove content from the social media platform, and alleged abuse of power by officials.

The next hearing in the case is set for today (August 25).

Mr Zatko's complaint said, "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."

According to reporting from The Washington Post, supporting information for Mr Zatko's claims had gone to the National Security Division of the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Earlier this month, a US court reportedly convicted a former Twitter manager accused of spying for Saudi Arabia on six criminal counts, including acting as an agent for the country and trying to disguise a payment from an official tied to Saudi's royal family.

Source: Reuters

(Quotes via original reporting)

According to a whistleblower disclosure with U.S. regulators, a former Twitter Inc security chief has alleged that the Indian government forced the social media giant to put a government agent on its payroll, Reuters reports.

Peiter 'Mudge' Zatko raised the issue with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, among other security lapse claims at Twitter. 

He reportedly said that the government agent would have had access to sensitive user data as a result of Twitter's weak security infrastructure, according to a redacted version of the complaint uploaded by the Washington Post and verified by Zatko's attorney at Whistleblower Aid.

A company source told Reuters that the allegations about the Indian government had surfaced previously within Twitter. They did not elaborate.

Representatives for India's IT ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement regarding Mr Zatko's allegations, a Twitter spokesperson said, "What we've 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." 

Twitter is engaged in a legal challenge against the Indian government following its July request for a local court to overturn some government orders to remove content from the social media platform, and alleged abuse of power by officials.

The next hearing in the case is set for today (August 25).

Mr Zatko's complaint said, "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."

According to reporting from The Washington Post, supporting information for Mr Zatko's claims had gone to the National Security Division of the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Earlier this month, a US court reportedly convicted a former Twitter manager accused of spying for Saudi Arabia on six criminal counts, including acting as an agent for the country and trying to disguise a payment from an official tied to Saudi's royal family.

Source: Reuters

(Quotes via original reporting)