So we're clutching our pearls because he did a little phreaking? Because pretty much everyone I know who's old enough built a blue box when they were a teenager. Including me.
Maybe I am not like the other boys as I do not see this as negatively as you. I did not read the article as scare mongering at all. The author rightly points out that a youthful indiscretion may be used against Beto. However, they also point out that O’Rourke credits the cDc with developing his thinking in a number of ways such as his strong feelings about net neutrality as a means of democratizing power on the internet. That could be scary for old people and others who do not use the internet but I would think that "everyone who is old enough" should act accordingly.
Adding this to the positives pile, too. There's more coming on the topic in June with cDc members willing to put their name on the record to back him up and talk about it. Gives Beto another calling card against the slew of Dems throwing their name in the hat. He seemed 'run-of-the-mill,' in my eyes, otherwise.