Twitter Hits Refresh on its Cybersecurity Leadership

Last week, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal made his second significant executive change since assuming the top spot in November 2021 and will replace the company’s top two cybersecurity leaders.

According to a report by The New York Times, Twitter’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Rinki Sethi is expected to officially depart in the coming weeks after just over a year on the job, while Head of Security Peiter Zatko has already left the company.

On Friday, Sethi tweeted, “It is with a heavy heart that I announce my impending departure from Twitter. Thanks to all of you that have reached out to check in with me, I appreciate all the kind words, thoughts and love being sent my way.”

The social media giant has reportedly named its Head of Privacy Engineering, Lea Kissner, as interim CISO while it searches for its next top cybersecurity executive.

An internal memo obtained by The Times revealed that the drastic leadership changes came after “an assessment of how the organization was being led and the impact on top priority work.”

Since taking over Twitter late last year, Agrawal has moved quickly to reshape Twitter’s executive team. In December 2021, Agrawal announced a leadership restructure alongside the dismissal of Chief Design Officer Dantley Davis and Head of Engineering Michael Montano. Twitter’s SEC filing announcing the changes disclosed that Agrawal “is restructuring the leadership team to drive increased accountability, speed, and operational efficiency.”