US regulator probes Twitter security lapse before Musk took over

Bug on social media platform had let outsiders view user email addresses during password resets


REUTERS October 11, 2023
'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

The US securities regulator is investigating how Twitter managed a 2018 security lapse that exposed personal user information before billionaire Elon Musk bought the social media platform last year, Bloomberg News reported.

The agency has been scrutinizing whether the former top executives failed to adequately disclose those privacy issues to shareholders or put in place proper controls, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

At the time, the company was being led by Jack Dorsey with Ned Segal as CFO and Parag Agrawal as the chief technology officer.

A bug on the social media platform had let outsiders view user email addresses during password resets, which revealed the identity of users, Bloomberg News said.

The company and the SEC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk renamed the social media platform as X following the acquisition.

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