ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with BNC

John McAfee leads cybersecurity company, signing up Roger Ver and Erik Voorhees

Cybersecurity expert, libertarian presidential candidate, and founder of McAfee antivirus, John McAfee is taking over as CEO at publicly-traded MGT Capital Investments, Inc., (NYSE MKT: MGT).

Fresh at the helm, McAfee is already charting a new course for the company, focusing on the how to secure cryptocurrencies. The company previously invested in and developed a wide array of intellectual property.

Cybersecurity expert, libertarian presidential candidate, and founder of McAfee antivirus, John McAfee is taking over as CEO at publicly-traded MGT Capital Investments, Inc., (NYSE MKT: MGT).

Fresh at the helm, McAfee is already charting a new course for the company, focusing on how to secure cryptocurrencies. The company previously invested in and developed a wide array of intellectual property.

John McAfee“As Chief Executive of MGT, I will lead a team to aggressively develop technology platforms, software, hardware and components designed to protect people and their freedoms. Under the technical leadership of the Company’s proposed Chief Technology Officer, Eric ‘Eijah’ Anderson, we will be laser focused on bringing these technologies to market."
— – John McAfee

"I fully expect that we will leave an even greater and longer lasting impact than the company I created in the 1980’s," McAfee said, referring to the pioneering antivirus software corporation that he sold a dozen years ago, McAfee, Inc.

MGT has also announced plans for a new name, John McAfee Global Technologies, Inc., the company website says, “as we prepare for John McAfee to assume the roles of Chairman and CEO, and complete the acquisitions of security technology companies D-Vasive and Demonsaw.” The name change is subject to shareholder approval, as is McAfee’s appointment.

Not one to waste time, McAfee has made a some key appointments already. Roger Ver, the earliest Bitcoin angel investor, and owner of Memorydealers and Bitcoin.com, has accepted the position as Chairman of McAfee’s newly-formed Cryptocurrency Advisory board, effective immediately. "Roger and I both understand that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and that the greatest risk to cryptocurrency users is the uneven security surrounding these currencies,” McAfee revealed.

Roger Ver“I can’t think of anything more exciting to be working on, or with a more exciting group of people.”
— – Roger Ver

An outspoken voluntaryist, Ver shares many similar libertarian views with McAfee, who wrapped up his campaign for the Libertarian Party’s candidate for this year’s U.S. presidential election two weeks ago.

Ver has introduced many people around the world to bitcoin, leading to his nickname, Bitcoin Jesus. Ver often went to conventions and gatherings, offering everyone in the room a few dollars worth of bitcoin for free, just to help spread the cryptocurrency. He has also made several notable charitable donations in bitcoin, including a donation of 1,000 bitcoins in December 2013, valued at more than US$1 million at the time, to the Foundation for Economic Education.

More recently, Ver offered to donate $100,000 to a charity of U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders choosing, if the democratic socialist U.S. senator would engage in a debate with Iraq War veteran and talk show host Adam Kokesh, who is a fellow voluntaryist. The offer stays open until the end of this year.

Ver’s new role at McAfee’s company will primarily be consulting. “There will be quarterly meetings, and various consulting time outside of that,” Ver told BraveNewCoin. The purpose of the new board is to ensure that the company remains up to speed on cryptocurrency technology, which McAfee deems mission critical. The board also ensures that the company produces state of the art products, according to recent statements.

Ver’s first act as Board Chairman was to appoint Erik Voorhees to the company’s Cryptocurrency Advisory Board. Like Ver, Voorhees is an early bitcoin advocate and shares McAfees and Vers libertarian views. Currently, the serial entrepreneur is CEO of the instant bitcoin and altcoin exchange ShapeShift, which provides APIs and web plug-ins that allow users to exchange a wide variety of cryptocurrencies and easily convert from one cryptocurrency to another.

Previously, Voorhees co-founded the bitcoin company Coinapult, a cryptocurrency wallet and broker, which was the first to allow users to send bitcoin through email. He has served as the head of marketing at BitInstant, an online payment processor that facilitates the transfer of funds between Bitcoin exchanges. However, Voorhees was best known for being the founder and partial owner of SatoshiDICE, which is still the leading bitcoin gambling website in terms of amount wagered. At one time the majority of the traffic on the bitcoin network was to and from that website, which no longer accepts U.S. customers today.

McAfee has also brought in cybersecurity expert and ethical hacker Bryan Seely, who joined the newly-created Hacker Advisory Board, which was created “to help steer technology across the cyber security field.” Seely is an ethical hacker, and best known for breaching the FBI and Secret Service two years ago using google maps.

Immediately prior to the announcement of new leadership, MGT had begun the process of acquiring two new startups in the cybersecurity field. D-Vasive, an innovative provider of anti-spy software, and Demonsaw, a secure and anonymous file sharing software platform.

MGT’s portfolio already a broad range of technology companies, social casino and gaming platforms, and a part ownership in DraftDay Fantasy Sports, Inc.; a daily fantasy sports wagering platform and operator of an online entertainment marketing and rewards platform.

With McAfee leading a solid team of cybersecurity and cryptocurrency experts, the revamped company could have just what it takes to make a product that does a good job at protecting bitcoin wallets on computers. It’s still a tall order, however. “Even the most experienced Bitcoin user, for example, risks financial loss if a clever hacker targets them,” McAfee explained in a recent statement about the company. “Key loggers and screen capture spyware – which can easily be planted on mobile device or laptops by simply visiting a website, among other simple means of infiltration – can override most security features of existing wallets.”

“If these types of cyber threats are not remedied, the world risks financial chaos as cryptocurrencies are widely adopted."
— – McAfee

Towards the end of the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando two weeks ago, McAfee made his concession speech to a disappointed crowd. The 70-year old speaker has always made it a point to be realistic, and constantly admitted to his supporters throughout the campaign that there was no chance of him becoming president.

While many libertarians prefered him to Governor Gary Johnson for their Libertarian Party candidate, he thanked them for their support and took the opportunity to say a few words about his upcoming business. "So many problems in the world can be easily fixed with common sense and a good grasp of the technology that people use daily,” said McAfee during his concession speech, “as long as we monitor the vulnerabilities caused by these same technologies. I see my upcoming new role as CEO of an exciting new cybersecurity company as paramount to that mission."


ADVERTISE WITH BRAVE NEW COIN

BNC AdvertisingPlanning your 2024 crypto-media spend? Brave New Coin’s combined website, podcast, newsletters and YouTube channel deliver over 500,000 brand impressions a month to engaged crypto fans worldwide.
Don’t miss out – Find out more today


ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with BNC
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with BNC
BNC Newsletters: A weekly digest of the most important news and analysis.
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with BNC
Submit an event on bravenewcoin.com
Latest Insights More
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise with BNC