So, in case you haven’t heard, of all people, Hillary Clinton was chosen by cybersecurity company FireEye to be the keynote speaker at their October summit.
Business Wire gave these details on the summit:
FireEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE), the intelligence-led security company, today announced details for FireEye Cyber Defense Summit 2019, taking place October 7-10 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
Among the keynote speaker lineup, Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will engage in a Q&A discussion with FireEye CEO, Kevin Mandia on the geopolitical landscape and its implications for global cyber security today. Secretary Clinton has been a practicing attorney and law professor, an advocate of internet freedom, First Lady, and U.S. Senator from New York, in addition to serving as the 67th United States Secretary of State.
“Differences among nations today, driven by friction in geopolitics, economics, security and technology, are having a significant impact on global cyber conflict. Secretary Clinton’s extensive knowledge of foreign policy, her firsthand experience on the front lines of diplomacy, and her understanding of the challenges facing open, democratic societies give her a unique perspective on some of the most pressing conversations shaping our world today,” said Mandia.
FireEye was forced to face the irony of their decision after people took to social media to criticize and make fun of the fact that the woman who used an email server located in her own basement to send and receive classified government information would be speaking at their event.
Here are just a handful of the tweets made in response to FireEye's decision:
On Friday, the executives over at FireEye responded to the online backlash they received.
The Western Journal gave the following details about what FireEye had to say in defense of selecting Crooked Hillary as their keynote speaker on cybersecurity:
An executive at FireEye, Inc. responded Friday morning to pushback surrounding the cybersecurity company’s decision to invite former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be the keynote speaker at their 2019 Cyber Defense Summit.
“I’m probably asking for it by responding, but context is important. I’m not defending the decision or how we communicated it. Any individual in the political realm can serve as a lightening rod in our society today,” Wes Simons, Vice President of Sales, Global Services and Intelligence at FireEye, responded on LinkedIn Saturday.
"A lightening rod." Clinton herself seems to play dumb when it comes to technology.
I guess FireEye doesn't remember this:
"What like with a cloth or something? I don't understand how it works digitally, at all."
Let's continue hearing Simons out...
“FireEye has a history of hosting past Secretary of State speakers (i.e. last year was Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell in the past, etc.). We’ve also hosted many individuals that have been involved in or a victim of cyber attacks in the past (i.e Frank Blake from Home Depot last year),” Simons wrote.
Wait a minute, is Simons implying that Clinton was a victim of a cyber attack?
He didn't outright say it, but we've gotta question these things in this day and age where mainstream media paints the portrait of Hillary being the rightful victor of the 2016 election, who only lost because she got hacked by Russia...
Simons proceeded to add that it is his belief that the question-and-answer format will provide for hard questions and inciteful dialogue, rather than simply accepting prepared talking points from Clinton.
“When looking at the event through those two lens, having her do a Q&A (she is not speaking with prepared remarks) with our CEO seems a reasonable approach,” Simons continued. “Unfortunately, in today’s politically charged culture, the polarizing political lens seems to be the most prominent.”
The executive was, however, particular in mentioning that his provision of context was neither a showing of approval or disapproval of the choice.
“Again, not agreeing or disagreeing with comments here as everyone is entitled to their opinion, but wanted to give a little more background.”
Mr. Simons, I hate to break it to you, but we're not criticizing your company's decision because Hillary Clinton is "politically polarizing."
We're criticizing your decision because she is the poster child for whatever the opposite of cybersecurity is!
What's next, will Lori Loughlin give a talk on academic honesty?
You never know in 2019.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!