- Jack Dorsey was "disengaged" about cybersecurity in his final year at Twitter, alleges a whistleblower.
- Dorsey dismissed fears about hacking at Twitter and Block as early as 2011, saying cybersecurity experts "whine a lot."
Twitter's former head of security alleges that Jack Dorsey was "extremely disengaged" on issues around cybersecurity in his final year as CEO, but Dorsey has rebuffed cybersecurity concerns at Twitter and another company he founded, Block (formerly Square), in the past.
Dorsey, who cofounded Twitter in 2006, was asked in 2011 by former New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth whether he was concerned that hackers were continually pointing out security flaws in Twitter and Square. Dorsey dismissed the matter, reportedly saying, "those guys like to whine a lot."
Twitter's former head of security, Peiter Zatko, filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC alleging that Twitter has "extreme, egregious deficiencies" in its defenses against hackers, leaving millions of Twitter users vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The complaint was published Tuesday by The Washington Post and CNN.
Zatko's complaint depicted Dorsey as checked-out regarding cybersecurity matters, saying Dorsey suffered a "drastic loss of focus" in his final year as Twitter CEO.
But Dorsey's exchange with Perlroth, which was included in her 2021 book, "This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race," suggests he dismissed potential hacking concerns even in the early days of Twitter.
Perlroth tweeted that she "never forgot his reply," referring to Dorsey. "Security is a culture, and it requires buy-in from the top," she added.
Dorsey twice served as Twitter's CEO. Once from 2006 until 2008, and again from 2015 until last year. Dorsey currently serves as CEO of Block.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this piece, but on Tuesday, a company spokesperson told Insider that Zatko was fired in January 2022 "for ineffective leadership and poor performance."
"Mr. Zatko's allegations and opportunistic timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers, and its shareholders. Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and will continue to be," the spokesperson said.