In the technological age, voters are busy distinguishing between fake news, they are sharing information through memes and interacting with technology that makes their lives easier and more efficient.
Then, there are the people behind the scenes, swimming through the channels of databases, collecting information and igniting a concern about the security of our privacy in the internet world.
Hackers have raised concerns about how the United States should respond to threats of digital warfare, and now it seems that Beto O’Rourke, 2020 Presidential Candidate, was a hacker during his teenage years. Not only that but he was also part of one of the best-known group of computer hackers.
First reported by Reuters, Beto was a member of a group that calls itself Cult of the Dead Cow, and the group protected his membership for decades because it was information they believed would compromise his political career. In fact, in a 2017 interview with Jane Menn, Reuters senior producer, Beto acknowledged that he was a member of the group, but he spoke with the understanding that his membership would not be revealed until after his race against Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterm elections.
Menn explained that she was writing a book on the group because “they were the most interesting and influential hacking group in history.” She found out that one of their members had been elected to Congress. After some time of investigative work, “they wouldn’t confirm that it was this person unless I promised that I wouldn’t write about it until after the November election.”
So, with the information now revealed days after making his presidential announcement, people will decide whether to further question continuing involvement with the group or to just accept it as a flash of the past.
However, as technology continues to advance and become prominent in our daily lives and in the political discussion, it’s a topic that will surely draw it’s ire from political opponents and constituents in general.
