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.” […]
