Hackers rally behind Kamala Harris' presidential campaign
Organizers of "Hackers for Harris," which took place at DEF CON in Las Vegas, said the fundraiser brought in more than $150,000 in pledged donations.
LAS VEGAS — At the largest hacker conference in the world this week, some turned out for a rare overtly partisan event: a fundraiser for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Organizers said the “Hackers for Harris” event, held late Thursday afternoon in a convention center bar at DEF CON, brought in more than $150,000 in pledged donations — a small amount compared to Harris’ recent hauls, but the largest political fundraiser in the conference’s 31-year-history.
Run by two former Biden administration cybersecurity officials, the event asked attendees to stand by the Democratic nominee, noting that she had been part of a small group of senators who supported election cybersecurity researchers from the conference in 2018. Organizers asked attendees to donate between $250 and $10,000. The fundraiser drew about 150 attendees.
Kemba Walden, who served in the Trump administration as an election cybersecurity attorney before temporarily becoming President Joe Biden’s acting national cyber director, led the event alongside Jake Braun, her former deputy and a longstanding DEF CON organizer.
“When Biden signed the national cyber security strategy and we came to DEF CON last year, we invited hackers to the White House,” Walden told NBC News. “I feel the community would have continued to be energized by the Biden-Harris administration engaging with them. The difference this year, though, now that Harris is coming forward, is they are much more interested in the politics of it all in a way they weren’t before.”
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