Robert Willis
Willis in 2015
NationalityAmerican
Other namesrej_ex
Known forHacking, comic books
AwardsTexas Medal of Merit
awarded by Texas State Guard[1]

Robert Willis, also known as rej_ex, is an American hacker and comic book writer. Willis is known for his work with the Sakura Samurai white-hat hacking group, and his contributions to the Wiley Tribe of Hackers book series.[2][3] In 2015, he helped build a platform and strategy for news syndication for his client Natural News, a fake news website. The site was ultimately used to promote the candidacy of Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton across hundreds of sister websites; the pieces would reach over 30 million people a week prior to the 2016 election.[4][5][6][7]

Early life

Willis was born in Stamford, Connecticut and raised by his mother and her family, who had immigrated to the United States from Italy.[5]

Willis became interested in computers at a young age, and began working online with hacker groups. He later identified the movies Hackers and The Matrix as contributors to his interest in hacking.[3]

Career

Hacking

Willis has worked in offensive security and red teaming for the military,[8] later receiving a Texas Medal of Merit for his cybersecurity work.[9] He was also employed for a time at Threatcare, a cyberattack simulation company.[10] As of 2020, Willis was a managing member of 1337, Inc., a defensive cybersecurity company based in Austin, Texas.[9] He is also a member of the Sakura Samurai hacking group.[2] Through his work with Sakura Samurai, Willis has been involved in discovering security issues affecting Indian governmental groups,[11] the Fermilab particle physics laboratory,[2] Ford,[12] and John Deere.[13]

Willis has been featured in the Wiley publications Tribe of Hackers: Cybersecurity Advice from the Best Hackers in the World,[14] Tribe of Hackers Red Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Offensive Cybersecurity,[15] and Tribe of Hackers Blue Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Defensive Cybersecurity.[16]

Misinformation

In October 2021, Willis revealed in an Ars Technica profile that he was "Hacker X", a previously anonymous individual described by Theresa Payton in her 2020 book, Manipulated: Inside the Cyberwar to Hijack Elections and Distort the Truth.[5] Willis described how he had helped build a disinformation network and run a massive fake news operation for Natural News, a website known for anti-vax conspiracies and for promoting then presidential candidate Donald J. Trump.[17] From 2015–2017, Willis and Natural News helped promote the candidacy of Donald Trump, spread hoaxes, and published political propaganda.[5][6][7]

Comic books

Willis’s first comic series was called Paraneon, which included three titles: The Hive Network, Neon Skyline, and Portals. The books were originally launched as a Kickstarter, eventually raising over 300% of the original funding goal.[18][19] In 2021, Willis obtained the trademark for Gold Key Comics.[20]

Political activism

Willis has said he identifies as socially liberal and fiscally conservative.[5]

Willis was an activist in the Connecticut Tea Party movement starting in 2009,[21] and acted as the head of its 4th Congressional district campaign. He caused a rift internally after threatening to vote Republicans out of office.[22][23] Willis received the nomination from the Republican Party for State Representative in the 105th District of Connecticut in 2014.[24][23]

Bibliography

Wiley Publishing

  • Tribe of Hackers: Cybersecurity Advice from the Best Hackers in the World (contributing writer, August 2019)[14]
  • Tribe of Hackers Red Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Offensive Cybersecurity (contributing writer, August 2019)[15]
  • Tribe of Hackers Blue Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Defensive Cybersecurity (contributing writer, September 2020)[16]
  • Corporate Cybersecurity: Identifying Risks and the Bug Bounty Program (forward, December 2021)[25]

Afterlife Comics

  • Neon Skyline (writer, letterer, artist, March 2021)[19]
  • The Hive Network (writer, colorist, letterer, artist, March 2021)[19]
  • Portals (writer, March 2021)[19]
  • Initiating ...Paraneon (writer, colorist, letterer, April 2021)[19]

References

  1. ↑ https://tmd.texas.gov/on-the-front-lines-of-the-cyberwars-texas-state-guard-stages-virtual-war-games-
  2. 1 2 3 Sharma, Ax (May 6, 2021). "US physics lab Fermilab exposes proprietary data for all to see". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Privacy in Action: Robert Willis, Hacker & Author". Startpage. October 1, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  4. ↑ Sharma, Ax (October 14, 2021). ""Hacker X"—the American who built a pro-Trump fake news empire—unmasks himself". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Sharma, Ax (October 14, 2021). ""Hacker X"—the American who built a pro-Trump fake news empire—unmasks himself". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Payton, Theresa (2020). Manipulated: Inside the Cyberwar to Hijack Elections and Distort the Truth. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-3350-7. OCLC 1112375124.
  7. 1 2 Anderson, Nate (October 18, 2021). "Disinformation guru "Hacker X" names his employer: NaturalNews.com". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  8. ↑ Jackson, John (January 22, 2021). "Episode 200: Sakura Samurai Wants To Make Hacking Groups Cool Again. And: Automating Our Way Out of PKI Chaos". The Security Ledger with Paul F. Roberts. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Kennon, AnnMarie (January 31, 2020). "Ask an Expert: Hackers". Georgetown View. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  10. ↑ Khan, Usman (July 13, 2021). "Discussing Cybersecurity, and Part & Parcel of Ethical Hacking with Robert Willis". PureVPN. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  11. ↑ Sharma, Ax (March 12, 2021). "Researchers hacked Indian govt sites via exposed git and env files". BleepingComputer. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  12. ↑ Sharma, Ax (January 15, 2021). "Undisclosed Apache Velocity XSS vulnerability impacts GOV sites". BleepingComputer. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  13. ↑ Bracken, Becky (August 10, 2021). "Connected Farms Easy Pickings for Global Food Supply-Chain Hack". ThreatPost. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Tribe of Hackers: Cybersecurity Advice from the Best Hackers in the World". Wiley Publishing. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Tribe of Hackers Red Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Offensive Cybersecurity". Wiley Publishing. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Tribe of Hackers Blue Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Defensive Cybersecurity". Wiley Publishing. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  17. ↑ Anderson, Nate (October 18, 2021). "Disinformation guru "Hacker X" names his employer: NaturalNews.com". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ Coble, Sarah (November 12, 2020). "Ethical Hacker's Comic Dream Gets Backing". Infosecurity Magazine. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Tabu, Hannibal (November 6, 2020). "Cyberpunk Comes To Life In Comics From Hacker Robert Willis' Paraneon". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  20. ↑ USPTO. "GOLD KEY - Willis, Robert Trademark Registration". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  21. ↑ Koch, Robert (August 4, 2010). "Tea Party back in Norwalk for primary". The Hour. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  22. ↑ Gaylord, Joan (May 21, 2010). "Republicans Invite Tea Party Activity". Norwalk Daily Voice. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  23. 1 2 Willis, Robert. "Statement: 10/18/21". Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  24. ↑ mycitizensnews (October 8, 2014). "GOP endorses Willis in 105th". Citizen's News. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  25. ↑ Jackson, John (2021). Corporate Cybersecurity: Identifying Risks and the Bug Bounty Program. Wiley. ISBN 9781119782520.
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