Allegations run wild at the Delaware Court of Chancery, where the fate of Twitter Inc. TWTR is debated.
A new claim by Twitter’s defense disputes allegations by Elon Musk that Twitter had forced whistleblowers Peter Zatko — a key element in Musk’s defense — burning sensitive documents after he failed to buy his silence.
The Twitter Musk lawsuit in brief: Twitter sued Elon Musk after this Tesla Inc TSLA The founder pulled out of a $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform, accusing the company of not providing clear enough information on the number of fake “spam” and bot accounts.
How does whistleblower Zatko fit into the story?
Zatkoa well-known hacker and cybersecurity specialist, was hired as Twitter’s head of security in 2020 and was fired in January 2022. Zatko became a whistleblower for Twitter’s security issues and testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing last month when he said, “The company’s cybersecurity flaws leave it vulnerable to exploitation and causing real harm to real people.”
“Twitter’s leadership is misleading the public, legislators, regulators and even their own board of directors,” Zatko said.
Zatko’s allegations fit perfectly with Musk’s case that he pulled out of the takeover business due to the company’s irregularities called Zatko to testify. Zatko could become a witness for the Musk Twitter lawsuit if the case goes to court.
For now, Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick has put the case on hold and set a new deadline for Musk and Twitter to finalize the deal before October 28.
In early September, Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said Twitter paid Zatko $7 million to ensure his silence after he left the company.
Earlier this week, Musk reportedly accused Twitter of asking Zatko to destroy evidence just before him resumed its bid to buy the social media platform.
Zatko had said he burned 10 handwritten notebooks and deleted 100 computer files.
Twitter lawyer says Zatko…
