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Whistleblower claims Twitter is a risk to national security

Published

3 years ago

August 24, 2022

Twitter misled federal regulators about its defences against hackers and spam accounts, the social media company’s former security chief Peiter Zatko said in a whistleblower complaint

Shares of Twitter dropped sharply on Tuesday after the revelation of an explosive whistleblower complaint alleging the social media company misled federal regulators about its defences against hackers and spam accounts.

The disclosures come from Twitter’s former security chief Peiter Zatko, a famed hacker more widely known as “Mudge,” who has testified before Congress about the vulnerabilities of the internet in the past.

Zatko says “If you’re looking for computer security, then the internet is not the place to be.”

Zatko, seen in an interview with Reuters at the 2019 Black Hat cybersecurity conference, filed an 84-page complaint last month with multiple government agencies, alleging that Twitter falsely claimed it had a solid security plan and said he had warned colleagues that half the company’s servers were running out-of-date and vulnerable software.

The complaint, which was first reported by the Washington Post and CNN, was also sent to congressional committees.

A Twitter spokesperson said on Tuesday that Zatko was fired in January for “ineffective leadership and poor performance” less than two years after then-CEO Jack Dorsey appointed him to the role, and said his complaint was designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter.

The whistleblower complaint comes at a rough time for the social platform, as its embroiled in a legal battle with Elon Musk after he said in July he was ending an agreement to buy the company, alleging Twitter had violated the terms of the deal.

The world’s richest person has accused Twitter of hiding information about how it calculates the percentage of bots on the service.

The whistleblower complaint alleges Twitter prioritised user growth over reducing spam, offering executives massive bonuses for increases in daily users and nothing explicitly for cutting spam.

CNN reported that Musk’s legal team has subpoenaed Zatko, after the whistleblower disclosure was made public. The Tesla CEO could not be reached for comment.

This report produced by Chris Dignam, Reuters.

Related Topics:china Featured musk russia trending Twitter

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Russia bans WhatsApp and promotes state-backed messaging app

Kremlin blocks WhatsApp, urging citizens to use state-backed MAX; critics warn of surveillance, prompting protests in Moscow.

Published

16 hours ago

February 13, 2026

Harvey Vargas

Kremlin blocks WhatsApp, urging citizens to use state-backed MAX; critics warn of surveillance, prompting protests in Moscow.

The Kremlin has officially blocked WhatsApp, urging Russians to switch to MAX, a state-backed messaging app. This move comes after Meta refused to comply with local regulations, sparking debates over digital freedom in the country.

Critics warn that MAX could be used for government surveillance, though authorities deny these claims. The ban highlights Russia’s growing control over foreign tech platforms and its push for locally regulated alternatives.

Activists in Moscow have staged protests calling for an open and unregulated internet, while the public reacts with a mix of concern and resignation.

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U.S. secretly sent 6,000 Starlink terminals to Iran after protests

US covertly sent 6,000 Starlink terminals to Iran amid protests, aiding internet access despite government shutdowns and crackdown violence.

Published

16 hours ago

February 13, 2026

Harvey Vargas

US covertly sent 6,000 Starlink terminals to Iran amid protests, aiding internet access despite government shutdowns and crackdown violence.

U.S. officials report that the Trump administration covertly sent around 6,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran following widespread protests. The move was designed to bypass strict internet blackouts imposed by authorities in Tehran.

The terminals reportedly enabled activists and dissidents to reconnect with the outside world during periods of severe digital restriction, raising fresh questions about foreign involvement and cyber strategy.

As geopolitical tensions simmer, the revelation underscores how connectivity has become a powerful tool in modern conflict.

#Iran #Starlink #DonaldTrump #MiddleEast #GlobalPolitics #TechNews #InternetFreedom #BreakingNews

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Anthropic secures 30 billion in fresh funding as valuation surges

Anthropic raises $30B, doubling valuation to $380B, boosting global AI race with support from GIC, Coatue, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

Published

16 hours ago

February 13, 2026

Harvey Vargas

Anthropic raises $30B, doubling valuation to $380B, boosting global AI race with support from GIC, Coatue, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

Anthropic has secured a staggering $30 billion in fresh funding, catapulting its valuation to $380 billion and cementing its place among the most valuable AI companies in the world. The raise marks the second-largest private technology funding round ever, trailing only OpenAI’s $40 billion deal.

Major backers in this latest round include Singapore’s GIC and Coatue Management, alongside existing heavyweight partners Microsoft and Nvidia. The scale of the investment underscores intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence as capital continues to flood into the sector.

Anthropic’s valuation has more than doubled in just five months, fuelled by rapid enterprise growth. The company now works with eight of the Fortune 10 and boasts more than 500 customers spending over $1 million annually, highlighting surging demand for advanced AI tools across corporate America.

#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Anthropic #TechNews #VentureCapital #BigTech #Innovation #Startups