Twitter Whistleblower Settled for $7 Mln. Before Filing Complaint
Since his filing the whistleblower has become a central figure in the battle between Elon Musk and Twitter over his offer to buy the company.
Twitter Inc. (US:TWTR) agreed in June to pay roughly $7 million to the whistleblower whose allegations will be part of Elon Musk's case against the company. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday afternoon.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said Peiter Zatko reached a seven million dollar settlement with Twitter before he filed his whistleblower complaint in July.
A hacker turned corporate security chief, Zatko’s complaint accuses the company of failing to protect sensitive user data and lying about its security problems.
According to the paper’s sources, the settlement covered lost compensation that could amount to millions of dollars
The sources further said the pact included a nondisclosure agreement about his work or disparaging the company.
The sources noted that the agreement did not preclude Zatcko’s Congressional testimony scheduled for next Tuesday, or his filing of the whistleblower’s complaint.
Since filing his complaint? Zatko is now a cen tryal figure in billionaire Elon Musk’s attempt to avoid having to complete his planned acquisition of Twitter.
Zatko’s statement said he "uncovered extreme, egregious deficiencies by Twitter in every area of his mandate," including privacy, digital and physical security, platform integrity and content moderation.
Twitter has said Mr. Zatko was fired "for ineffective leadership and poor performance" and that his whistleblower complaint "is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context."
The paper’s sources told it that at some time during the negotiations, Zatko increased his monetary demand by roughly five times, but it could not discover couldn't be learned what
"Mr. Zatko could have stayed silent about what he saw on Twitter to protect his career and family," one of Mr. Zatko's lawyers, Alexis Ronickher of Katz Banks Kumin, said in a written statement. "Instead, he came forward with his whistleblower disclosures to ensure that the government has the information it needs to protect Twitter's users, investors, and the country."