#Twitter stepped up search for security chief weeks prior to bitcoin hack

Twitter had stepped up its search for a new chief information security officer in the weeks prior to the massive bitcoin scam that breached the social network’s system Wednesday, sources told Reuters.

The San Francisco-based social media giant has been without a permanent security chief since May 2018, when Michael Coates left the post and was replaced on an interim basis by Joe Camilleri, a former executive at JP Morgan Chase.

On Wednesday, hackers — reportedly with help from a Twitter employee who was paid off — took control of accounts belonging to prominent personalities including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and former President Barack Obama.

Messages sent out from the high-profile handles promised to double contributions sent to a listed bitcoin address — prompting a nearly $120,000 influx of cash into the account in a matter of hours.

The FBI is now probing the scam to determine if Twitter is vulnerable to future attacks that could compromise national security.

While it is uncertain if a permanent chief security officer could have protected the system from hackers, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has also been under pressure from investors and analysts to replace Chief Operating Officer Anthony Noto, who left the post in 2018.

With Post wires