The Tragic Death of a Technology Genius

On Thursday, the news of John McAfee, the creator of McAfee antivirus software, broke over the world like a thunderbolt. The technology enthusiast and entrepreneur was found dead in his jail cell near Barcelona in what officials claim was an apparent suicide. The tragic news, which shook the technology world to its core, came hours after a Spanish court approved his repatriation to the United States to face tax charges punishable by several years in prison.

The peculiar cryptocurrency promoter and tax adversary whose history of legal battle spanned from Tennessee to Central America to the Caribbean was found at the Brians 2 prison in northeastern Spain. As per the regional Catalan government, security personnel tried to resuscitate him, but the prison’s medical team finally confirmed his death.

The antivirus guru, who was arrested last year, had been in the Spain prison awaiting the extradition proceedings. The arrest followed charges in Tennessee for dodging taxes after being unable to report income from endorsing cryptocurrencies. The criminal charges carried a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

In one of his last interviews, with The Independent, McAfee said his time in jail was an exciting experience, adding he was constantly amused and excited. He also insisted he never wanted to return to the US. The man told the newspaper that he was identified by inmates and guards, adding that his key point of contact outside the jail was his wife, Janice McAfee. 

In a tweet, his wife wrote that McAfee had spent the last eight months in complete agony and that he underwent considerable mental and physical, as well as financial trouble. She said that despite suffering immensely, he remained undeterred from continuing to speak the truth to power.

California chipmaking giant Intel, which bought McAfee’s company in 2011 for $7.68bn, for some time purposely dissociated the brand from its contentious creator by folding it into its larger cybersecurity unit. But the rebranding was fleeting, and Intel in 2016 protracted the cybersecurity division into a new company called McAfee.

In a statement, Jaime Le, a McAfee company spokesperson, said: “Although John McAfee founded the company, he has not been associated with our company in any capacity for over 25 years. That said, our thoughts go to his family and those close to him.”

The unfortunate death of one of the world’s leading technology icon, who made an indelible imprint on the cybersecurity landscape by dint of his sheer brilliance and ingenuity, is a huge and irreparable loss. The authorities would do well to conduct an immediate inquiry into this huge tragedy and determine if he indeed committed suicide or whether his death is the result of a larger conspiracy.