John McAfee to run for 2016 US presidency

The anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee, who was once a fugitive, has said he would run for the American presidency in 2016 under a newly-formed Cyber Party. The 69-year-old said on his official Twitter account that he would make an official announcement on 10 September at 6pm ET.

McAfee, a columnist with IBTimes UK, is an influential commentator on cybersecurity. The eponymous anti-virus company he started was acquired by chipmaker Intel. His new venture, called Future Tense Central, focuses on security and personal privacy products. McAfee was a "person of interest" in the murder of American expatriate Gregory Viant Faull in Belize, where he lived for several years.

He told CNNMoney: "We are losing privacy at an alarming rate — we have none left. We've given up so much for the illusion of security and our government is simply dysfunctional. I have a huge underground following on the web. I promise you I will win because I have the votes."

McAfee, who has been providing regular insights into global hacking scandals and internet surveillance, would run for the US presidency under a newly-created Cyber Party as a third-party candidate, reports NBCNews. The ex-fugitive would mainly focus on cyber security as, according to him, "it's clear that the leadership of our country is illiterate on the fundamental technology that supports everything in life for us now, that is cyber science, our smartphones, our military hardware, our communications." (via Wired)

McAfee further said: "The desire to respond to terrorist attacks had opened citizens up to excessive surveillance. The government can spy on people using their mobile phones while they're with their wives and husbands... the US government is simply dysfunctional and lacks an understanding of the basic technology that runs the world."