John McAfee

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“He Was Never Arrested Or Charged In The Murder”

May 9, 2016 in Excerpts, Science/Tech | Permalink

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John McAfee, who’s never been charged for murder, is a Philip K. Dick character of his own making, speeded-up and paranoid. The erstwhile anti-virus emperor says he’s returning to the field of security software but who the fuck knows. McAfee’s apparently found financial backing, but he seems better suited to manning a gunboat in the proximity of a banana republic. From Richard Waters in the Financial Times:

John McAfee, the controversial former software boss, has made a move to win back a leading role in the security software industry that he helped to pioneer, taking the helm of a tiny public investment vehicle and declaring his aim of turning it into “a successful and major force in the space”.

Mr McAfee, creator of the widely used antivirus software that bears his name, sold his first company to Intel for $7.6bn six years ago, in one of the biggest software transactions ever. But he made international headlines four years ago when he went on the run after becoming the focus of a manhunt in Belize following the murder of his neighbour there. He fled over the border into Guatemala, before being deported back to the US at his request. He was never arrested or charged in the murder.

Mr McAfee’s erratic behaviour and claims that he was afraid for his safety if he was arrested by the local police prompted the Belize prime minister to suggest he was “bonkers.” He has since maintained an outspoken public stance on tech policy issues, including putting himself forward as an independent candidate in this year’s US presidential elections and denouncing the FBI’s attempt to force Apple to grant access to one of its iPhones this year as “the beginning of the end of the US as a world power.”•

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“Advances In Weaponry And Equipment Had Rendered Traditional Tactics Obsolete”

December 23, 2015 in Excerpts, Politics, Science/Tech | Permalink

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John McAfee may be a little crazy, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong: The sky, sooner or later, will fall. In a recent IBT column he co-wrote with Rob Loggia, the online security expert asserts that “World War 3 will be a cyberwar,” which doesn’t seem a farfetched prognostication. In explaining our lack of preparedness for the new normal of battle, McAfee draws an analogy to the Civil War, when weapons had quietly become so advanced that timeworn strategies were rendered surprisingly useless. An excerpt:

Machines Turned Against Us

So what happens when an army or nation, even a seemingly well prepared army or nation, enters or is drawn into conflict unaware that the rules of engagement have changed?

One thing that happens can be seen by looking at the American Civil War. Advances in weaponry and equipment had rendered traditional tactics obsolete, and neither side was aware of it. The result of them not realizing this was tremendous bloodshed.

When the Civil War erupted, both sides entered into the engagement assuming an outmoded form of conflict. Generals on both sides had rigorously studied tactics and strategy manuals based in the Napoleonic era, and followed them during the first part of the war. The result was bloodbaths like Antietam and Fredericksburg.

What happened was that the weapons they had, though they looked much like weapons from Napoleon’s era, were in many cases far more advanced, accurate and deadly. Previously sound offensive tactics were now literally suicidal. Both armies had to learn this the hard way. As the war developed, later battles were characterized more by trenches and fortifications than open battlefields.•

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“A Person Does Not Have To Physically Board A Plane In Order Take Control Of It”

September 22, 2015 in Excerpts, Politics, Science/Tech | Permalink

John McAfee is as paranoid and prescribed as Philip K. Dick, but that doesn’t mean he’s writing fiction when he imagines that planes are prone to cyberterrorists. The anti-virus VIP and former fugitive from Belizean justice thinks America needs a serious course correction or hackers at home, not on-board hijackers, will perpetrate 9/11 2.0. 

From McAfee’s latest International Business Times column:

A person does not have to physically board a plane in order take control of it. Even though Chris boarded a flight to Philadelphia and used the entertainment system to demonstrate the weaknesses inherent in Airline control systems, he has spoken out stating the obvious: anyone with moderate hacking abilities can go online from anywhere in the world, and take control of our commercial airliners. …

This may sound far-fetched, but it is obvious to anyone following the hacking community. In July, two hackers demonstrated to Wired magazine that they could, from anywhere on the internet, hack into a Jeep automobile manufactured within the past 5 years, take control away from the driver, and run the car into a ditch. The demo was done at 5mph. You can imagine what results would manifest at 50mph.

The architecture of automobile control and flight control systems share one commonality: they were designed in an age where the nuances of cybersecurity were unknown or ignored. They were not designed, first and foremost, with preventing a hack in mind. I could write forever about the impossibilities of providing any security whatsoever given the current approach to security that is being pursued by the TSA, but that would be counterproductive.•

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“It Is The Medium Of Last Resort For The Disenfranchised Of The World”

July 8, 2015 in Excerpts, Politics, Science/Tech, Urban Studies | Permalink

The average age of an International Business Times writer seems to be about twelve, so these young folks sometimes aren’t so familiar with history, believing, for instance, that Project Orion might merely be a “claim” that Freeman Dyson has made rather than well-recorded history. So I’m thrilled when the publication invites someone with a bit more experience to pen pieces for it. One such guest scribe is security expert/erstwhile fugitive John McAfee, although his last article, one about Edward Snowden, was a little woo-woo in the head. Philip K. Dick couldn’t have done better after downing a bowl of amphetamines on a spinning tea cup at Disneyland. 

In his newest writing for IBT, an analysis of the Hacking Team hack, McAfee argues that the Dark Net is exploited by surveillance software companies and governments alike to legitimize mass spying. Further, he believes we’re in the midst of a growing global cyberwar waged by a welter of states and corporations. On one level or another, that type of gamesmanship is happening and will continue without end. An excerpt:

As with the Sony hack, it is the leaked emails that allow us to dig deep into the psyche of this industry. In one of the Hacking Team’s leaked emails Vincenzetti states: “The Dark Net is 99% used for all kinds of illegal, criminal and terrorist activities.”

This statement, as with many of his statements, is blatantly false.

On the Dark Web we of course find mind-numbing pornography, advertisements for hit men, drugs of every kind, fake Cartier watches that even Cartier cannot distinguish, human traffickers of every kind, money launderers – and even lawyers.

However, in the overwhelming majority of the Dark Web, we find human rights activists who, if their identities were known, would certainly be executed by their home country.

We find scientific or religious theories that are unpopular and would invite repercussions if the authors were known. We find whistle-blowers who pass documents of delicate sensitivity but powerful impact.

It is the medium of last resort for the disenfranchised of the world. It is definitely not “99% used for all kinds of illegal, criminal and terrorist activities.

These, and similar statements released by every one of the corporations who create and market surveillance software are designed to foster the attitude of fear propagandised by covert and law enforcement agencies within every government on the planet.”

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“I Doubt Everything, Even My Own Senses At Times”

June 22, 2015 in Excerpts, Politics, Science/Tech | Permalink

The unanswered questions that we have about the Snowden Affair are probably a little different than the ones circulating in the head of cybersecurity expert and former fugitive John McAfee, who has written an unsurprisingly strange, paranoid and colorful piece on the topic for International Business Times. An excerpt:

The Russian interviewer also asked me about Snowden: “In your opinion, is Edward Snowden a real character or one invented by the intelligence services?”

And this was my answer

“I doubt everything, even my own senses at times. Is the apparent US government the real US government? Could the real government be a committee of the largest corporate entities who mount this play of democracy to veil the real machinations?

Are the divisions of the world into apparent “countries” even real? Are the apparent divisions within my own country real? Do we really have a tripartite system of government, where the executive, legislative and judicial divisions are, in fact, real divisions? I could go on forever.

As to Edward Snowden, I find the following inconsistencies to be very troubling:

1. He is a man of soft character and limited experience in the difficult and dangerous world into which he so willingly and knowingly thrust himself. I have personally been a fugitive. I have experienced many dangers and difficult situations, and even I with my excellent survival skills would not willingly bring down such wrath upon myself. Why would a man of Snowden’s apparent character do so?

2. He was safe in Hong Kong prior to entering Russia. With no offense to your country, I believe that Snowden was smart enough to know that he could have faded into the back alleys and byways of Hong Kong and, with his talents, have led a thriving existence there. Chinese women are equally as attractive as Russian women and not quite so dangerous. It is cheaper to live in Hong Kong and the weather is better. It is, quite frankly, a colourful place full of opportunity for a clever person. Why did he leave for Russia?

3. I doubt the truth of it all because my only source of information on the subject I have obtained through the world’s press. What truth can there be in it?”•

 

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