Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, the former Twitter chief of security whose explosive revelations alleged serious security flaws and deceptive practices within the company, has received a subpoena to appear for an impeachment in the pending lawsuit between Twitter and Elon Musk.
The request puts the Twitter whistleblower at the center of Musk’s ongoing legal battle with Twitter, which he took over in April. Musk has tried to break the deal, citing many of the same issues detailed in Zatko’s disclosures.
Zatko is expected to be impeached in connection with the subpoena on September 9.
Musk’s legal team took action shortly after Zatko’s allegations became public, telling reporters they were already filing a subpoena on Aug. 23. However, the documents were not officially submitted until Monday, giving the request legal force and the details being made public for the first time.
In an attached document (pages 11 to 14), Musk’s team details a series of documents and communications covered by the subpoena, including any materials related to the impact of spam on Twitter’s operations or citing the notoriously tricky mDAU figure as a “key statistic.” The court will also review material related to the end of Zatko’s employment with Twitter and his continued ownership of Twitter stock. In addition, the court demands all documents relating to illegal activities by Twitter or foreign intelligence agents employed by the company.
Zatko’s Disclosures Filed With The SEC And First Obtained By The Washington Post and CNN, made numerous claims of negligent security procedures and deliberately deceptive practices. Among the allegations in the documents, Zatko alleges that Twitter has deliberately downplayed the level of bot activity on the platform — something Musk has cited as a central reason for trying to pull out of the deal to buy the company.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has disputed Zatko’s claims, labeling them a “false story” in an email sent to staff and statements sent to the media. Subsequently, many leading cybersecurity voices came forward to endorse Zatko’s credentials and track record, with veteran cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter tweet that there was “probably no security manager with more ethics, more credibility than Mudge.”
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