Elon Musk enjoys 'popcorn' time as whistleblower 'exposes' Twitter's security lapses

The former Twitter security head, Peiter 'Mudge' Zatko, who has played a key role in Elon Musk's attempt to back out of buying the social media firm, on Tuesday accused its leadership of putting 'profits over security' and blaming inadequate cyber defences and foreign infiltration.

Appearing before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, the Twitter whistleblower said the firm was 'over a decade behind industry security standards' in a hearing that put the company's cyber security procedures in the public eye and may have an impact on the outcome of Elon Musk's high-stakes legal dispute.

Also read: From national security threats to recklessness: Whistleblower ‘exposes’ Twitter

Zatko also accused its executives of 'misleading the public, lawmakers, regulators and even its board of directors' over its security practices.

While Zatko's testimony was underway, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a 'popcorn' emoji on the social media platform, indicating that the American billionaire was enjoying the 'show time'.

What Peiter 'Mudge' Zatko told US lawmakers?

Disclosures from the former Twitter executive show that at least one Chinese agent is working at the social media giant, Senator Chuck Grassley said in his opening remarks during the Senate hearing today featuring testimony from the whistleblower.

During the hearing, Peiter Zatko, who oversaw security at the company until he was fired last year, revealed that several staff members were worried the Chinese government could gather information on the company's users.

"In a nutshell, if we were already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream," Zatko said.

Also read: What is Elon Musk's new reason to terminate Twitter deal?

"His disclosures also note that the FBI notified Twitter of at least one Chinese agent in the company," Grassley said in his opening statement.

Grassley said that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal declined to attend the hearing because doing so may endanger the company's legal action against Elon Musk. Next month, a trial between Twitter and Musk will determine if the 44 billion-dollar acquisition should go through.

The San Francisco-based firm sued Musk for cancelling the contract, but the Tesla CEO filed a countersuit, claiming Twitter had exaggerated the number of false and spam accounts utilising its service.

Last Monday, a Delaware court granted Musk's plea to delay the trial but dismissed his request to add Zatko's whistleblower claims in his case against Twitter.

Early in July, the former executive filed a complaint with US authorities, alleging that the firm had misled users and regulators about its deficient cyber security policies and permitted the penetration of the site by foreign intelligence. The complaint also brought up issues with bots.

In response to Zatko's allegations that Twitter deceived regulators about its compliance with a 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for unlawful management of user data, the Senate Judiciary Committee is questioning the former head of security.

Also read: Twitter denies having Indian 'agents' on its payroll, but gets a lashing from MPs

Since then, Twitter has made "little meaningful progress on basic security, integrity and privacy systems," Zatko's complaint filed with regulators in July said.

Twitter has said Zatko was fired for "ineffective leadership and poor performance" and that his allegations appeared designed to harm Twitter.

Zatko's appearance before the committee comes as the deadline for Twitter shareholders to vote on Musk's takeover is set to pass later on Tuesday.