Robert Willis, also known as rej_ex, is an American

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bug (computing), bugs or exp ...

and

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer. He is known for his work with the Sakura Samurai white-hat hacking group, and his contributions to the

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations *Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Georgia, an U.S. unincorporated community * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People *Wiley (musician), ...

''Tribe of Hackers'' book series. 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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

against

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

across hundreds of sister websites; the pieces would reach over 30 million people a week prior to the 2016 election.

Early life

Willis was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

and raised by his mother and her family, who had immigrated to the United States from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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 ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'' as contributors to his interest in hacking.

Career

Hacking

Willis has worked in offensive security and

red teaming A red team is a group that simulates an adversary, attempts a physical or digital intrusion against an organization at the direction of that organization, then reports back so that the organization can improve their defenses. Red teams work fo ...

for the military, later receiving a

Texas Medal of Merit The Texas Medal of Merit, formerly known as the Texas Meritorious Service Medal, is the seventh highest Awards and decorations of the Texas Military, military decoration that can be conferred to a service member of the Texas Military Forces. Subse ...

for his cybersecurity work. He was also employed for a time at Threatcare, a cyberattack simulation company. As of 2020, Willis was a managing member of 1337, Inc., a defensive cybersecurity company based in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas. He is also a member of the Sakura Samurai hacking group. Through his work with Sakura Samurai, Willis has been involved in discovering security issues affecting Indian governmental groups, the

Fermilab Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle phys ...

particle physics laboratory,

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, and

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

Misinformation

In October 2021, Willis revealed in an ''

Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...

'' 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.'' Willis described how he had helped build a disinformation network and run a massive

fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...

operation for '' Natural News'', a website known for anti-vax conspiracies and for promoting then presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. From 2015–2017, Willis and ''Natural News'' helped promote the candidacy of

, spread hoaxes, and published political

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

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 Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

, eventually raising over 300% of the original funding goal. In 2021, Willis obtained the trademark for

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984. History Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when its ...

Political activism

Willis was an activist in the Connecticut

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

starting in 2009, and acted as the head of its 4th Congressional district campaign. He caused a rift internally after threatening to vote Republicans out of office. Willis received the nomination from the Republican Party for State Representative in the 105th District of Connecticut in 2014. In 2021, Willis told ''Ars Technica'' that he identifies as socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

Bibliography

Cybersecurity

* Contributing writer in: * Contributing writer in: * Contributing writer in: * "Foreword". in

Comics

* ''Neon Skyline'' (writer, letterer, artist, March 2021) * ''The Hive Network'' (writer, colorist, letterer, artist, March 2021) * ''Portals'' (writer, March 2021) * ''Initiating ...Paraneon'' (writer, colorist, letterer, April 2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Robert People associated with the 2016 United States presidential election 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American writers American comics artists American comics writers Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Ethical hackers Living people People from Stamford, Connecticut Sakura Samurai Year of birth missing (living people)