Due to ‘unforeseen circumstances,” Hillary Clinton has reportedly withdrawn her invitation to deliver the keynote speech at the 2019 FireEye Cyber Defense Summit, according to news from the Daily Caller.
Infosecurity has contacted FireEye and Clinton’s office to confirm that the former US secretary of state will no longer be speaking at the cybersecurity event. Clinton is not listed among the 2019 speakers for the event, and a detailed agenda including keynote details is not yet available on the conference website.
Clinton was invited to participate in a Q&A discussion with FireEye CEO, Kevin Mandia, “on the geopolitical landscape and its implications for global cybersecurity today. Secretary Clinton has been a practicing attorney and law professor, an advocate of internet freedom, First Lady, and US Senator from New York, in addition to serving as the 67th United States Secretary of State,” according to a May 30 press release.
“Differences among nations today, driven by friction in geopolitics, economics, security and technology, are having a significant impact on global cyber conflict. Secretary Clinton’s extensive knowledge of foreign policy, her firsthand experience on the front lines of diplomacy, and her understanding of the challenges facing open, democratic societies give her a unique perspective on some of the most pressing conversations shaping our world today,” said Mandia.
Clinton delivering the keynote address received much fodder on social media, with some expressing ‘laughter’ while others admitting that they cancelled their registrations.
“Just cancelled my plans to go to #FireEyeSummit. No way to trust a cyber company that thinks it is a good idea for a govt official that is willing to run a private, unprotected server, out of her home is a keynote speaker. Her disposal techniques are umm,” one person tweeted.
If Clinton has officially withdrawn, the news has remained tightly under wraps. Despite critics expressing their dissatisfaction at the news that she would be speaking, Twitter has remained very quiet since the Daily Caller reported the news on July 4.