Former Presidential Candidate Beto O'Rourke Reveals Teenage Ties to Legendary Hacking Group
Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke acknowledges his past membership in the Cult of the Dead Cow, America's oldest hacking group. This previously hidden detail sheds light on his unconventional approach to politics and technology.
Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke acknowledges that he belongs to the Cult of the Dead Cow, the oldest hacking group in United States history. The hugely influential group, named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse, is notorious for releasing tools that allow ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft Windows and for inventing the term "hacktivism."
Members of the hacking collective protect O'Rourke's secret for decades, but they now confirm his involvement in a series of interviews for an upcoming book. There is no indication that the former presidential candidate ever engages in the edgiest sorts of hacking activity, such as breaking into computers or writing malicious code.
However, his membership in the group provides valuable context for his unconventional political strategies. His background in hacking circles repeatedly informs his approach as he explores and subverts established procedures in technology, the media, and government, applying a hacker's critical perspective to the political system.