New report details the Democratic candidate's time as a member of Cult of the Dead Cow.
If Beto O'Rourke becomes the Democratic Party nominee for president and then wins the election, he could become the first president of the United States with a background in the hacker community, according to a new Reuters report.
It turns out that O'Rourke was a member of Cult of the Dead Cow, one of the US's early hacker groups. According to the report, he engaged in some typical teenage online shenanigans (grabbing games with no DRM and a bit of light-weight phone-phreaking), leaving the group's activities by the time he was 18.
Why did his hacker-related history now come to light? According to Reuters, "Members of the group have protected O'Rourke's secret for decades, reluctant to compromise his political viability. Now, in a series of interviews, CDC members have acknowledged O'Rourke as one of their own."
Along with his time playing in a punk band and his current tendency to recharge by skateboarding, the hacker background is part of a resume that marks O'Rourke as an uncommon candidate for the presidential nomination.
According to legal experts Reuters contacted, it seems likely that O'Rourke's activities would be considered misdemeanors, the statute of limitations on which would have expired years ago.
For more, read here.
Join Dark Reading LIVE for two cybersecurity summits at Interop 2019. Learn from the industry's most knowledgeable IT security experts. Check out the Interop agenda here.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like
Guarding the Cloud: Top 5 Cloud Security Hacks and How You Can Avoid Them
April 4, 2024Cybersecurity Strategies for Small and Med Sized Businesses
April 11, 2024Defending Against Today's Threat Landscape with MDR
April 18, 2024Securing Code in the Age of AI
April 24, 2024
Black Hat USA - August 3-8 - Learn More
August 3, 2024Cybersecurity's Hottest New Technologies: What You Need To Know
March 21, 2024Black Hat Asia - April 16-19 - Learn More
April 16, 2024