Walter O'Brien

Walter O'Brien (born 24 February 1975 He is known for his claims of various accomplishments (such as a childhood IQ of 197) that have not withstood scrutiny. The second of five children, he grew up on a farm. He attended St. Patrick's National School in Courtnacuddy until his family moved to Rosshaven, when he was 13 years old. There he attended St. Mary's Christian Brothers School, Enniscorthy. but did not keep the paperwork.

Techdirt and The Irish Times said that O'Brien's 197 IQ score from childhood does not mean his intelligence exceeds that of other adults because scoring is scaled based on age.

O'Brien has stated that when he was thirteen years old , he hacked into NASA under the pseudonym "Scorpion".

In an interview with Silicon Republic, an Irish technology news website, O'Brien claimed that the NSA, through Interpol, appeared at his home following the hack. He told the agents he would help show them vulnerabilities in their network in exchange for not getting into trouble. The university from which he graduated shows his team finished the 1993 Olympiad in 90th place out of 250.

O'Brien started Scorpion Studios, which advises film and television producers on how to make technology appear real.

Boston Marathon bombing

A month after the bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon, Fox 11 LA-KTTV (Los Angeles) reported that O'Brien's company, Scorpion Computer Services, Inc., developed video-analysis software similar to that used by the FBI to catch the bombers. Techdirt said that this was one of many "bogus" claims about O'Brien by CBS.

CBS show

According to O'Brien, in an effort to promote his company Scorpion Computer Services, Inc. and its service Concierge Up, he came up with the idea to create a television show. In September 2014, CBS premiered the first season of the drama series, Scorpion, based on O'Brien's alleged life experiences. For his part in story development, O'Brien consulted with series writers on technical aspects of the plot, including how he would solve problems presented in the show's scripts. O'Brien also consulted with Elyes Gabel, the actor who plays the fictional Walter O'Brien. In an interview with CBS News to promote the second season, Gabel said about O'Brien that "he's out saving the world or talking to, you know, princes of Liechtenstein. So every now and again, I get the chance to talk to him and he'll call me up. And sometimes we talk about the show. Sometimes we talk about characters."

The first season attracted more than 26 million viewers. CBS ordered a full season of Scorpion in October 2014 and renewed it for a second season in 2015. The show was renewed again for a third season in 2016, with a fourth season confirmed for 2017. In March 2017, CBS renewed Scorpion for season 4. The show was cancelled after four seasons in May 2018.

Accuracy of biography In 2014, CNET, Techdirt, and Fast Company evaluated CBS' claims about O'Brien's accomplishments, widely reported in the media, following questions to Fast Company. Karlin points out that community-edited business directories data may be unreliable, and O'Brien stated that most of the company consists of independent contractors who work remotely. "That meant everything that he was saying I believe rather than kind of questioning," he says. "That becomes a very dangerous, treacherous area if you don't really fully commit or believe in what somebody is saying. So once I got rid of that, the balance became: 'How do I make this guy? How do I create vulnerability in a character?"

Fenton goes on to say:

In reality many of O'Brien's claims don't stack up. He says he didn't keep the paperwork showing he scored 197 on an IQ test in primary school — but even if it were true, scores are scaled with age, meaning a high score as a child doesn't reflect his intelligence as an adult. He hasn't taken an official Mensa-approved test since. There's also no evidence of the NASA hack and O'Brien can't provide further details claiming he signed a non-disclosure agreement. And of course Homeland Security was formed as a result of the attack on the Twin Towers and didn't exist when he was 13. O'Brien helped fund the start-up cost of Kilkenny Taxi Watch which Kilkenny People reported as having prevented 45 suicides through July 2015. By April 2016, Taxi Watch stated on their Facebook page that the number of lives saved had reached 100.

O'Brien has spoken at numerous events, including speaking at the Mensa 2016 annual gathering event in San Diego, and the Houston Innovation Conference and Showcase.

In 2017, O'Brien was honored with unite4:humanity's Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement award.