Whistle-Blower Says Twitter ‘Chose to Mislead’ on Security Flaws

The site had put user data at risk and exposed its inner workings to possible foreign agents according to the former top security official.

According to Peiter Zatko, who was the top security official at the time, there was at least one agent on the payroll of a Chinese intelligence service. He said that the executives of the company lied about its security flaws instead of fixing them.

A whistle-blower complaint was filed by Mr. Zatko. He said the company failed to guard against attacks and lied about it.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was concerned about Mr. Zatko's allegations. The top Republican on the committee said thatTwitter has a responsibility to make sure that the data is protected and doesn't fall into the hands of foreign powers.

Mr. Zatko added to the turmoil. The fight for the survival of the social media service has been going on for a long time. A trial over the case will take place next month. The deal is expected to be approved by the shareholders later in the day.

Mr. Zatko has become entangled in the battle between Mr. Musk and the social network. The lawyers for Mr. Musk have seized on Mr. Zatko's statements to support their argument.

Mr. Musk claims that he should be able to walk away from the acquisition because the company downplayed the number of fraudulent accounts. Mr. Zatko said in his complaint that Mr. Musk had been lied to.

The committee invited Mr. Agrawal but he said it would jeopardize the litigation with Mr. Musk.

The allegations implicate Mr. Agrawal and he should be here to address them.

The story is evolving and will be updated.

Kate Conger worked on the report.