Some parts of Twitter's source code have been leaked online (GitHub), according to a legal filing from the social networking platform itself, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
The code had been published on GitHub, Microsoft's popular platform that allows developers to share code.
According to the legal document, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Twitter has asked the platform to remove the source code, so the leaked sections are no longer available.
See also: Twitter: Changes to two-factor authentication
"GitHub does not generally comment on decisions to remove content. However, for the sake of transparency, we publicly disclose every DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] takedown request," a GitHub spokesperson told the BBC.
The DMCA law was signed into law in the US in 1998. It aims to protect copyrighted material on the internet.
In its request to remove the source code from the platform, Twitter asked GitHub to provide information about who was behind the account (“FreeSpeechEnthusiast”) that leaked the code.
Twitter said the user's account had violated copyright laws.
The source code leak is a new blow for Twitter and for Mr. Musk in particular, who has caused a lot of reactions with his actions after acquiring the social networking platform in October last year.
See also: Twitter: Will notify you when a tweet you interacted with receives a comment from Community Note
Just days after acquiring the platform, Musk announced that he would be making a number of changes. One of the most significant, however, was the layoffs of thousands of employees (about half of the company's staff). Many others resigned in reaction to Musk's demands and decisions. Also, many celebrities have turned against Twitter since the billionaire took the reins.
But to get back to our topic, source code leaks are a bad situation. One of the major consequences of such leaks is cyber attacks. Hackers and cybercriminals can use stolen source code to analyze software. They can even modify the code to create new attack vectors tailored for the company. For this reason, companies (large like Twitter but also small) should take proactive measures to protect their source code.
See also: Elon Musk will appoint a new Twitter CEO by the end of 2023
In other news, Elon Musk recently suggested that Twitter's value could be below $20 billion. It's worth noting that he bought the company late last year for $44 billion.
Mr Musk also reportedly told staff: “I see a clear, but difficult, path to a >$250 billion valuation.”
Source: www.bbc.com
