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"Insiders say: There are Chinese and Indian agents working on Twitter." The Associated Press reported on this topic on the 13th that former security director Pete Zatko was fired by Twitter. On the 13th local time, he attended a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee and stated his allegations against his old club Twitter. Twitter's cyber defenses are weak, he said, and company executives are reluctant to make an effort to "root out foreign agents." Not only did he believe that Twitter had allowed the Indian government to insert agents into the company, he also claimed that Twitter had at least one Chinese agent among its employees. However, these claims have been widely questioned. The Associated Press said many of Zatko's claims were unsubstantiated and appeared to have little documentation to back them up. Twitter responded by saying that Zatko's allegations against the company were "false narratives" that were "riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies."

Pete Zatko Source: US media

　　Zatko, 51, rose to prominence in the 1990s as a pioneer of the "ethical hacking movement," and later worked for the U.S. Department of Defense, Google and other companies, joined Twitter in late 2020, and was fired earlier this year, according to reports. CNN reported on August 24 that Pete Zatko reported to the U.S. Congress, the Department of Justice and federal regulators that Twitter is very easy to be used by foreign governments, thereby threatening the national security of the United States, and there may even be active foreign spies. in. At a hearing on the 13th, Zatko repeated the allegations to U.S. lawmakers, criticizing Twitter's leadership for "misleading the public, lawmakers, regulators, and even its own board of directors," accusing Twitter of Allowing too many employees access to the company's platform's core control systems and most sensitive information.

　　The Associated Press said Zatko expressed "high confidence" that the Indian government had placed agents inside Twitter in order to understand the progress and progress of "negotiations" between India's ruling party and Twitter on new social media restrictions. He also claimed that a week before he was fired in January, Twitter received a warning from the FBI that the company had at least one Chinese agent, CNN said. Zatko said Twitter seemed "unwilling to make an effort" to root out foreign proxies.

　　In response to Zatko's series of allegations, the Associated Press quoted Twitter's statement in its report that the company's hiring process was "free from any foreign influence" and that access to data was managed through a series of measures, including background checks. , access control, and processes for monitoring and detecting systems. CNN quoted Twitter's response as saying: "Today's hearing only confirms that Mr. Zatko's allegations are full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies." Business Insider said an FBI spokesman did not immediately respond to the media's request. Evaluation request.

　　In recent years, as U.S. politicians are keen to politicize cybersecurity issues, the battle between U.S. Internet companies and politicians has intensified. It is worth noting that Musk, the founder of Tesla in the United States, who repented after announcing the acquisition of Twitter, tweeted a "popcorn" emoji during the hearing. The Associated Press said it is often used to indicate that a person is "sitting and waiting for a good show to start."