WhatsApp ex-security head spills the beans in lawsuit – The Register

WhatsApp’s former head of security, Attaullah Baig, has filed a lawsuit against its parent company, Meta, alleging that the social media megalith retaliated against him for reporting security failings that violated legal commitments. The complaint [PDF], filed in Northern California District Court, says Baig reported what he believed to be several violations of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act involving the failure to disclose security issues that represent potential acts of shareholder fraud, plus potential violations of US Securities and Exchange Commission rules about internal information controls. As a result of his reports, Baig claims leaders at WhatsApp unlawfully retaliated against him through inaccurate performance reviews that were filed as a pretext to terminate his employment. Echoing the words of Meta comms boss Andy Stone, WhatsApp VP of communications Carl Woog told The Register in an emailed statement: “Sadly this is a familiar playbook in which a former employee is dismissed for poor performance and then goes public with distorted claims that misrepresent the ongoing hard work of our team. Security is an adversarial space and we pride ourselves in building on our strong record of protecting people’s privacy.” That record includes years of security and privacy criticism, a €225 million fine
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