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Tag: AU10TIX

musk
June 27, 2024
Jack Montgomery
TECH

X Drops ID Verification Firm Tied to Israeli Spies.

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) is dropping AU10TIX, the Israeli firm it uses to confirm verified users’ identities through document scans and selfies, in favor of Stripe. Reports allege that AU10TIX chairman and founder Ron Atzmon is or was a spy for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

X recently required all verified users, who receive a blue checkmark and can become eligible for a share of advertising revenue, to submit photographic identification to AU10TIX. Now, reports suggest the Israeli firm may have exposed users’ private information for over a year after administrator credentials leaked online.

The potentially exposed data includes users’ names and dates of birth and scans of personal documents such as passports and drivers’ licenses. The security breach impacts not only X users but also other companies AU10TIX contracted for, such as TikTok and Uber.

The requirement for verified users to submit their information to AU10TIX had been controversial due to reports that Ron Atzmon formerly worked for Shin Bet. Shin Bet is a partner agency of Israel’s Aman (military intelligence) and Mossad (foreign intelligence) agencies.

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Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) is dropping AU10TIX, the Israeli firm it uses to confirm verified users' identities through document scans and selfies, in favor of Stripe. Reports allege that AU10TIX chairman and founder Ron Atzmon is or was a spy for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). show more
May 31, 2024
Jack Montgomery
TECH

X Users Required to Submit ID to Israeli Firm Allegedly Tied to Spy Agency.

Users of Elon Musk‘s X, formerly Twitter, signed up to receive a share of the platform’s advertising revenue through its blue checkmark verification program are being ordered to submit photographic identification by July 1 to continue receiving payouts. Some users are crying foul, with the process being handled by Israeli firm AU10TIX. Its chairman and founder, Ron Atzmon, is alleged to be a spy or former spy for the Israeli military.

Atzmon’s LinkedIn page suggests he served as a naval platoon sergeant in the Israeli military. However, reporting by Lebanese newspaper L’Orient Today and far-left watchdog journalism organization MintPress News claims he served with the Israeli internal intelligence service Shin Bet. Shin Bet is a partner agency of the Aman (military intelligence) and Mossad (foreign intelligence) agencies.

Atzom is said to have served in Shin Bet’s Unit 8200, comprised of thousands of soldiers responsible for cyberwarfare and surveillance. Unit 8200’s methods have been questioned in the past, including by its own spies. Forty-three reserve members wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2014 decrying its sweeping use of wiretaps.

More recently, Unit 8200 was reported to be using information scraped from Google Photos for facial recognition surveillance. Google, along with PayPal, Uber, and other major firms, is another client of Atzmon’s AU10TIX.

PUSHBACK. 

Despite ongoing issues with shadowbans, Musk’s decision to share revenue with verified users has been a huge boon to many start-up news and commentary groups, as well as independent reporters and pundits.

Prominent content creators, such as ‘Censored Men,’ are petitioning Musk to rescind the photo verification requirement. They argue it is an “extreme security risk.”

X is currently subject to a lawsuit over its infiltration by Saudi agents pre-Musk. They used private data held by the social media firm to identify dissidents. Some were arrested and sentenced to decades in prison or even death.

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Users of Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, signed up to receive a share of the platform's advertising revenue through its blue checkmark verification program are being ordered to submit photographic identification by July 1 to continue receiving payouts. Some users are crying foul, with the process being handled by Israeli firm AU10TIX. Its chairman and founder, Ron Atzmon, is alleged to be a spy or former spy for the Israeli military. show more