International
Ex-security chief accuses Twitter of hiding major flaws
AFP
Twitter misled users and federal regulators about glaring weaknesses in its ability to protect personal data, the platform’s former security chief claimed in whistleblower testimony likely to impact the company’s bitter legal battle over Elon Musk’s takeover bid.
In a complaint filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and published in part Tuesday by The Washington Post and CNN, Peiter Zatko also accused Twitter of significantly underestimating the number of automated bots on the platform — a key element in Musk’s argument for withdrawing his $44 billion buyout deal.
CNN quotes the disclosure by Zatko as accusing Twitter of “negligence, willful ignorance, and threats to national security and democracy.”
Zatko, who Twitter says it fired earlier this year for poor performance, warns of obsolete servers, software vulnerable to computer attacks and executives seeking to hide the number of hacking attempts, both to US authorities and to the company’s board of directors.
The hacker-turned-executive, who goes by the nickname “Mudge,” also claims that Twitter prioritizes growing its user base over fighting spam and bots, according to the reports.
In particular, according to The Washington Post, he accuses the platform’s boss Parag Agrawal of “lying” in a tweet in May.
In the tweet, Agrawal says Twitter is “strongly incentivized to detect and remove as much spam as we possibly can.”
Twitter has dismissed the allegations.
A company spokesperson told AFP Tuesday that Zatko was fired in January this year for “ineffective leadership and poor performance.”
“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The “opportunistic timing” of the allegations appears “designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders,” the statement continued.
“Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and will continue to be.”
– Subpoena by Musk –
The issue of fake accounts is at the heart of the legal battle between Twitter and Tesla chief Musk.
The billionaire has repeatedly accused the company of minimizing the number of fake accounts and spam on its platform.
Musk is relying on the argument to justify abandoning his plan to buy Twitter for $44 billion and avoid paying severance.
CNN said Zatko had not been in contact with Musk, and that he had begun the whistleblower process before there was any sign of the billionaire’s involvement in Twitter.
“We have already issued a subpoena for Mr. Zatko, and we found his exit and that of other key employees curious in light of what we have been finding,” Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro told AFP on Tuesday.
The Washington Post and CNN both reported that the US Senate Intelligence Committee wants to meet with Zatko to discuss his accusations.
Zatko was hired in late 2020 by the founder and former boss of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, after a massive hack which saw the accounts of major users including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, reality star Kim Kardashian and Musk himself compromised.
International
U.S. health authorities report mutation of avian flu virus in Louisiana patient
The avian flu virus mutated inside the first seriously ill patient in the United States, according to the country’s health authorities. However, they assured that, so far, no person-to-person transmission of the virus has been identified in this patient, who is hospitalized in Louisiana.
Scientists warned that while it is concerning because mutations could make the virus potentially more transmissible between humans, they would be alarming if found in animal hosts or in the early stages of infection or symptom onset, which would facilitate the spread to close contacts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified at least 65 human cases of avian flu in the United States, with more than half (36) reported in California, including the country’s first child infected with this virus.
CDC analysis of the Louisiana patient identified mutations in the hemagglutinin gene, which were not found in the samples from infected poultry at the source of the outbreak. This suggests that the changes emerged as the virus replicated in the seriously ill patient.
International
José Mujica’s recovery continues with successful stent procedure in esophagus
Former Uruguayan President José Mujica underwent surgery on Friday, during which a stent was successfully placed in his esophagus. In April, a malignant tumor was discovered in the area, which was treated with radiation therapy.
“We did it today because the situation required it at this moment. This will allow him to continue eating orally, continue receiving food as before, and maintain his recovery at home,” explained his personal doctor, Raquel Pannone, in a press conference.
She also took the opportunity to explain how the stent works.
“It is a prosthesis. A device placed inside the esophagus that self-expands. This metal device adheres to the walls of the esophagus and remains there, expanding the esophagus’ opening and allowing the passage of food,” she detailed.
International
Preliminary Investigation Suggests ‘External Interference’ in Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash in Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan Airlines stated on Friday that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan experienced “external, physical, and technical interference,” based on preliminary investigation results, fueling speculation that the aircraft may have been struck by Russian defense missiles.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines and carrying 67 people, was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russian territory, when it crashed near Aktau, a port on the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan, far from its intended route. The crash resulted in the deaths of 38 people, according to Kazakh authorities.
In response to the incident, Azerbaijan Airlines announced the suspension of its flights to several Russian cities, as the “preliminary results of the investigation into the Embraer 190 crash… point to external, physical, and technical interference.”
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