TWEET ALL ABOUT IT

Twitter has hired Peiter Zatko, a famous hacker, to be its head of security, the company confirmed to The Hill on Monday.

According to Reuters, which first reported the hiring decision, Zatko will take over the position in 45-60 days, after a security review has been completed.

Zatko is a high-profile hacker known as “Mudge,” and was a member of L0pht, a hacking group that testified to Congress in 1998 about cyber vulnerabilities in government. He is also one of the leaders of the Cult of the Dead Cow, a hacking group that released tools to hack Windows in a bid to force Microsoft to step up security.

Zatko has also worked for both the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at the Defense Department, and for Google as part of their Advanced Technology and Projects Division.

“Looks like the cat is out of the bag,” Zatko, writing as Mudge, tweeted on Monday, linking to the Reuters article. “I’m very excited to be joining the executive team at Twitter! I truly believe in the mission of (equitably) serving the public conversation. I will do my best!”