Robert Willis (hacker)

Robert Willis, also known as rej_ex, is an American hacker and comic book writer. He is known for his work with the Sakura Samurai white-hat hacking group, and his contributions to the Wiley Tribe of Hackers book series.

Career

Hacking Willis has worked in offensive security and red teaming for the military, later receiving a Texas Medal of Merit 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, Texas. the Fermilab particle physics laboratory, Ford, and John Deere.

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. From 2015–2017, Willis and Natural News helped promote the candidacy of Donald Trump, spread hoaxes, and published political propaganda.

Political activism Willis was an activist in the Connecticut Tea Party movement 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. The Hive Network (writer, colorist, letterer, artist, March 2021) Portals (writer, March 2021) Initiating ...Paraneon'' (writer, colorist, letterer, April 2021)