Former Twitter security chief Peiter "Mudge" Zatko testified in front of the Senate Wednesday, expounding on past claims he made in a whistleblower complaint that the company suffers from major cyber security breakdowns. He also explained why he believes the company allegedly does a poor job securing user data.
There is no incentive to create a framework to protect user data or develop cyber security features, including sending patches out to employees when software vulnerabilities are discovered, Zatko said at one point during the hearing. Achieving revenue growth is the highest priority, according to the legendary hacker who was hired in 2020 after numerous high profile accounts were simultaneously hacked.
"I didn't see any financial incentives at the top levels that would then give prioritizations to such efforts," Zatko said when asked why the company doesn't push out software patches. "In fact, I saw incentives counter to that."
In addition to a lack of financial incentives, the company also operates in a mode of chaos, making the creation of security systems more challenging, he argued. Zatko added: "The company needs crisis to operate."
Twitter dismisses the complaint, arguing last month that its full of inaccuracies. A spokesman reiterated that belief after yesterday's hearing, noting in a statement to CNN that the company's internal data system is managed through control and monitoring systems.
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