Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Twitter Hunts Insider Who Posted Source Code Online
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
March 27, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Some parts of Twitter’s source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing that was first reported by The New York Times.

According to the legal document, first filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Friday, Twitter had asked GitHub, an internet hosting service for software development, to take down the code where it was posted. The platform complied and said the content had been disabled, according to the filing.

Twitter, based in San Francisco, noted in the filing that the postings infringe on copyrights held by Twitter.

The company also asked the court to identify the alleged individual or group that posted the information without Twitter’s authorization. It’s seeking names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profile data and IP addresses associated with the user account “FreeSpeechEnthusiast” which is suspected of being behind the leak. The name is an apparent reference to Twitter’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, who described himself as a free speech absolutist.

It is difficult to know if the leak poses an immediate cybersecurity risk for users, said Lukasz OIejnik, an independent cybersecurity researcher and consultant, but he did say that breach underscores internal turbulence at the company.

“While this is the internal source code, including internal tools, the biggest immediate risk seems to be reputational,” Olejnik said “It highlights the broader problem of Big Tech, which is insider risk,” and could undermine trust between Twitter’s employees or internal teams, he said.

Musk had promised earlier this month that Twitter would open source all the code used to recommend tweets on March 31, saying that people “will discover many silly things, but we’ll patch issues as soon as they’re found!” He added that being transparent about Twitter’s code will be “incredibly embarrassing at first” but will result in “rapid improvement in recommendation quality.”

The leak creates another challenge for Musk, who bought Twitter in October for $44 billion and took the company private. Twitter has since been engulfed in chaos, with massive layoffs and an exodus of advertisers fearful of exposure on the platform to looser rules on potentially inflammatory posts.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is probing Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

DON'T MISS

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

DON'T MISS

Stay Cool, Fresno!

DON'T MISS

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

DON'T MISS

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

UP NEXT

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash Workers Remain Contractors Due to California Supreme Court Ruling

UP NEXT

Video Game Performers Will Go on Strike Over Artificial Intelligence Concerns

UP NEXT

Watch: Breaking Down Netanyahu’s Speech in Congress

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: A Widespread Rally on Wall Street Sends Stocks Rising, Both Big and Small

UP NEXT

Uvalde, Texas, School Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Failing to Protect Kids During Attack

UP NEXT

Spicy Dispute Over the Origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Winds up in Court

UP NEXT

Arson Suspect Named as Park Fire Near Chico Triples in Size

UP NEXT

Eye-Popping Construction Costs Intensify California’s Chronic Housing Shortage

UP NEXT

Harris Tells Netanyahu ‘It Is Time’ to Get Hostage Deal Done and End Gaza War

UP NEXT

Child Online Safety Bill Scales Senate Hurdle, but Fate Remains Uncertain

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

1 hour ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

2 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

2 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

2 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

3 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

3 hours ago

Tanker Plane Crash Kills Firefighting Pilot in Oregon as Western Wildfires Spread

3 hours ago

Will Bonta Election Lawsuit Reverse the Will of Fresno County Voters?

3 hours ago

Opening Ceremony Floats Down Seine as Paris Investigates Rail Sabotage

3 hours ago

Council Rejects Luxury NW Fresno Apartment Project. What’s Next?

4 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

Fresno State baseball standout and two-way player Tommy Hopfe has signed a one-year, $100,000 guaranteed contract with the Colorado Rockies....

6 mins ago

6 mins ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

24 mins ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

1 hour ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

1 hour ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

2 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

2 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

2 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

3 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend