• Twitter's former head of security, Peiter Zatko, was paid $7M by the company just before filing a whistleblower complaint.

• The settlement included an NDA, though whistleblower complaints are one exception to such an agreement.

• Zatko's complaint has become instrumental in Elon Musk's legal battle with Twitter.

The whistleblower who has become an instrumental part of Elon Musk's legal battle with Twitter was paid a $7 million settlement by the company in June, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Peiter Zatko, Twitter's former head of security, was reportedly paid the settlement in relation to lost compensation after Twitter fired him in January.

The Journal reports that Zatko agreed to a nondisclosure agreement that forbade him from speaking publicly about his time at Twitter or disparaging the company. However, whistleblower complaints are one exception to such an NDA.

Zatko's complaint, which accused Twitter of significant failings in the realm of cybersecurity, and detailed a "drastic loss of focus" from former CEO Jack Dorsey, was made public last month. Zatko's claims have since become instrumental in Elon Musk's case against Twitter.

Musk is currently locked in a battle with Twitter after trying to back out of a legally binding agreement to buy the social media platform, citing Twitter's reluctance to provide him with information about the number of bots and spam accounts on the platform.

The whistleblower complaint contains a section called "Lying about Bots to Elon Musk" and accuses Twitter of misrepresenting how it combats spam accounts.

The company declined to comment, but Twitter has previously described Zatko as a disgruntled former employee and said he was fired for "ineffective leadership and poor performance."

Zatko is set to testify before a committee of the US Senate next week regarding the claims he made in his whistleblower complaint.

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