Mad John McAfee: 'Can you live in a society that is more paranoid than I'm supposed to be?'

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/04/mad_mcafee/

By Alexander J Martin
The Register
4 June 2015

Infosec 2015 - John McAfee delivered a surprisingly non-controversial 
keynote speech to the London Infosec Conference on Wednesday afternoon, 
lauding the value of privacy, doing so – to the concern of his bewildered 
audience – whilst seemingly tickling himself through the cloth of his 
pocket.

McAfee's talk was essentially a rant against governments' 
security-compromising activities, summed up by his statement: "We cannot 
allow a fearful government to create weaknesses in the very software we 
are trying to protect. By putting backdoors in the software, we have given 
hackers the access we are trying to prevent."

Easily the rockstar of infosec, McAfee took to the stage fashionably late 
– though his audience had remained comfortable, being plied with free 
alcohol, free food and an enjoyable musical set (wasted on Infosec's more 
senior attendees) during their wait.

The man himself, a young 70-year-old in a handsome navy suit, looking and 
seeming much like a millionaire version of Matthew McConaughey's Rust 
Cohle, was quick to address what he regarded as the major political 
influences upon security and explicitly criticised governments' notions of 
backdooring software. A strong approach to a conference which has always 
had plenty of government security bods attending.

"Take control of your lives," McAfee urged Infosec. "Say 'I am going to be 
responsible for myself, at least to some extent.' Governments cannot 
protect you."

[...]

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