Sens. Durbin, Grassley announce Whistleblower hearing on Twitter security failures

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on alleged security failures at Twitter following a whistleblower complaint from the company's former security chief.

Scheduled for Sept. 13, the hearing will feature testimony from whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, a prominent hacker and the firm's former security chief, according to a press release from Durbin and Grassley.

Zatko lodged his complaint in July, alleging “extreme, egregious deficiencies” in the firm's security and ability to protect its users. He further alleged that the company misled the federal government with false claims that it had readied a security plan and that it withheld data about the frequency of security breaches.

“Mr. Zatko’s allegations of widespread security failures and foreign state actor interference at Twitter raise serious concerns," the senators wrote. "If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world." 

“The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate this issue further with a full Committee hearing this work period, and take further steps as needed to get to the bottom of these alarming allegations," they vowed.