According to a legal complaint, portions of Twitter’s source code, the underpinning computer code that powers the social network, were stolen online. This is a rare and significant disclosure of intellectual property at a time when the firm is working to resolve technological challenges and turn around its financial fortunes under Elon Musk.
According to the petition, Twitter took action on Friday to get the stolen code removed by notifying GitHub, an online community for software engineers where the code was posted, of a copyright violation. That day, GitHub obliged and removed the code. The length of time the leaked code had been accessible online was unknown, but it seemed to have been open for at least many months.
Twitter also requested that GitHub be required to disclose the identity of the person who provided the code and any other people who downloaded it.
Two sources being informed on the internal investigation said that after Twitter initiated an investigation into the leak, officials handling the subject concluded that whomever was in charge of it left the San Francisco-based firm last year. Almost 75% of Twitter’s 7,500 employees have been let go or quit after Musk paid $44 billion to acquire the firm in October.
Source code leak was just recently disclosed to executives, according to persons informed on the internal probe. One issue is that the programming has security flaws that might allow hackers or other determined individuals to steal user data or bring the website to an end, they claimed.
The leak for Twitter comes on top of growing structural and financial difficulties. During the last few months, Musk has been working to turn around the social network by cutting expenses, experimenting with new features, and allowing members who had been banned to rejoin. Nonetheless, service interruptions have risen, and advertisers—the company’s primary source of income—have been wary of placing advertising on the website.
Financial harm has resulted from the upheaval. In an email to staff members on Friday, Musk estimated Twitter’s value to be at $20 billion, a decrease of more than 50% from the price he paid for it.
In response to a request for comment about Twitter’s exposed code, Musk remained silent. Twitter’s takedown request was posted on GitHub’s website, but the company declined to comment on the choice to delete the code.
