Rep. Will Hurd of Texas is now not scheduled to offer a headline speech on the Black Hat cybersecurity convention.
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In an abrupt about-face, the organizers of Black Hat USA eliminated Rep. Will Hurd as keynote speaker on Friday, a day after that they had introduced his look on the annual cybersecurity convention. The cancelation of the politician’s look adopted a backlash on Twitter, the place individuals within the trade known as it inappropriate.
“We’re nonetheless totally devoted to offering an inclusive atmosphere and apologize that this choice didn’t replicate that sentiment,” convention organizers stated partially in its assertion Friday.
Hurd, a Republican who represents Texas’ 13th District, has been a vocal supporter of utilizing tech-based options on the US-Mexico border in lieu of a wall. He has additionally voted to curtail entry to abortion. In 2015, he voted in opposition to an modification that may have provided monetary help to ladies in STEM — the invoice misplaced by a vote of 204-217.
“A keynote from a lawmaker who would not imagine ladies ought to have elementary human rights is just not an effective way make ladies really feel welcome in the infosec neighborhood,” Digital Frontier Basis director of cybersecurity Eva Galperin stated in a tweet on Thursday. Others stated they had been canceling their plans to attend the convention.
A consultant for Hurd did not instantly reply to a request for remark.
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