Self-Proclaimed Clown John McAfee Offers Cybersecurity Expertise to CZ
In a former life, John McAfee ran a cybersecurity firm. Now he wants to rally his former fierce rival Kaspersky to help CZ crack Binance's bitcoin hack. | Source: Shutterstock
By CCN.com: Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is receiving support from some of the most unlikely places. John McAfee has extended a helping hand to the beleaguered Binance chief. In a tweet, McAfee relied on a little bit of self-depreciation to charm Zhao, the latter of whom is learning quickly who his real friends are. McAfee, who is often the brunt of jokes in the crypto industry for his bombastic claims, realizes that $40 million worth of bitcoin stolen is no joke. He stated:
“If I can help at all, please let me know. Underneath my clown suit is still one of the most experienced cybersecurity experts on the planet. I’ve been doing it for 51 years. I am at your service.”
Okay, so maybe not entirely self-deprecating. But it’s McAfee. We’ll take what we can get.
John McAfee’s offer was good enough for CZ, who responded to the cybersecurity expert with a tweet displaying handshake emojis:
McAfee is a cybersecurity pioneer who founded the McAfee antivirus software company in the eighties. He later sold it for billions of dollars and has since distanced himself from the brand bearing his name. Most recently he’s been on the run from the IRS for alleged tax evasion and also from Belize authorities for being a “person of interest” in a murder.
He’s looking to the cybersecurity software industry to help him crack the Binance case. But he’s not turning to his namesake antivirus company. Instead, he’s asking his “cybersecurity peers” more broadly and also more specifically Kaspersky, a once fierce-rival of John McAfee and his company. This type of industry collaboration from inside and outside of crypto could bring an end to this nightmare for Binance’s CZ.
The call for help resounded in the crypto community, drawing rare cheers from McAfee’s followers on Twitter. One such user, Tommy Mustache, who has more than 12,000 Twitter followers, spoke for many when he tweeted:
“An attack on one is an attack on us all John. Thank you for reaching out to help! Please find a way to help find those hackers and bring them to justice for the whole crypto community.”
McAfee wasn’t the only person who offered support to CZ. Tron CEO Justin Sun was willing to dig deep into his pockets to replace the $40 million-plus in bitcoin that Binance lost in the hack. CZ graciously turned it down, since the exchange’s SAFU fund has enough to cover the loss. But he will take all of the help on the cybersecurity side of things that he can get to catch the hackers. John McAfee could turn out to be an unlikely hero in all of this.
