British newcomers Cambridge Analytica earned serious bragging rights---and more than a few enemies---as the data firm that helped engineer Donald Trump's victory in its first US presidential election. Now it's poaching the Republican National Committee's chief technology officer, Darren Bolding, in a quest to become the analytics outfit of record for the GOP.
Bolding, who in November, 2015, became the RNC's third CTO in as many years after building his career as an engineer in Silicon Valley, will assume the title of CTO at Cambridge, where he will build products for commercial and political clients. "We want to be able to scale up what we’re already doing, since there's been quite a lot of interest from the commercial and political space," he says.
Cambridge's pitch is that it divides audiences into "psychographic groups" to target them with the kinds of messages that, like most ads, are based on demographic factors but also are most likely to appeal to their emotional and psychological profiles. The effectiveness of, and methodology behind, these tactics remain the subject of great debate among the Beltway's traditional data minds, who express skepticism about Cambridge's ability to deliver on its promises. But Trump's victory in November was a blow to the firm's detractors.
Though Cambridge is now pursuing commercial clients through its new office in New York, it's also expanding its DC operation and hopes to secure government and defense contracts under the Trump administration. Cambridge already has the requisite ties. Not only did it work for the Trump campaign, but Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, serves on the firm's board.
Cambridge also is funded by Robert Mercer, the billionaire donor who gave millions to Trump Super PACs and whose daughter Rebekah Mercer serves on the Trump transition team. She reportedly is involved in shaping the non-profit organization that will serve as a fundraising and messaging vehicle for the Trump administration. That could give Cambridge an advantage in securing its business. Cambridge Analytica declined to comment on these potential deals, and the Trump transition team has not yet responded to WIRED's request for comment.
Bolding's departure from the RNC comes as Republicans and Democrats alike grapple with the threat of cyber attacks in the wake of the breach, attributed to Russian hackers, of the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election. During his press conference this week, president-elect Trump scolded the DNC for allowing such an attack and claimed that hackers were foiled in their attempt to penetrate the Republican National Committee. Bolding confirms the RNC experienced frequent attacks throughout the election cycle. "We were very vigorously attacked," Bolding says. "I've done this for large commercial companies that have had significant threats, but this was really intense."
While there may have been no breaches of recent RNC data, in a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday, FBI director James Comey said that “information was harvested" from old RNC email domains that are no longer in use, though none of that information was released.
As people continue questioning whether information from the Russian hacks effected how Americans voted in November, Bolding says both parties and their candidates must invest heavily in technological safeguards next time around. "No one in 2018 is going to be able to say, 'We didn't have time,'" he says.
Meanwhile, Cambridge will be harvesting data on the American electorate and using it to promote the Republican party.
