The Black Hat security conference has changed its mind about having Texas Republican Will Hurd as keynote speaker for its event in Las Vegas from 3 to 8 August, after the politician's voting on women's issues surfaced and was criticised.
In a statement, the organisers said: "Black Hat has chosen to remove US Representative, Will Hurd, as our 2019 Black Hat USA Keynote.
Based on the number of people I saw pissed off yesterday about the BlackHat keynote selection, saying they'd be cancelling registration if it wasn't reversed, I look forward to seeing a record breaking number of you at the conference this year! https://t.co/HcdikP5K6l
— Jake Williams (@MalwareJake) June 14, 2019
"We misjudged the separation of technology and politics. We will continue to focus on technology and research, however we recognise that Black Hat USA is not the appropriate platform for the polarising political debate resulting from our choice of speaker.
"We are still fully dedicated to providing an inclusive environment and apologise that this decision did not reflect that sentiment."
Hurd's voting record says: "Representative Hurd opposes taxing businesses, consumer protection, funding education, environmental protection, financial sector regulation, gun control, humane immigration policy, labour rights and wages, avoiding default, poverty amelioration, racial equality, increasing revenues, taxing the wealthy, countering russian interference, a robust safety net, domestic surveillance, women's rights and supports big business, hawkish foreign policy, taxing the middle class, military spending."BlackHat's decision to have Rep. Will Hurd keynote their co ..
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