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An NBC reporter learned the hard (and embarrassing) way that DefCon 15, a conference of underground hackers who also happen to be security experts, is not the place to go undercover with a hidden camera.George Ou, who blogs for CNET News.com's sister site ZDNet, has written a detailed account of the drama that unfolded Friday at the Las Vegas conference when staff members announced the "spot the undercover reporter" game. Staffers had apparently learned that a Dateline NBC producer hoping to catch someone confessing to a hacking crime was there as a regular attendee after refusing repeatedly to seek a press pass.
Just as DefCon officials were about to put her photo up on the conference projector, the reporter bolted and a crowd followed her out to her car, taking video and shouting out questions and statements.
[news.com.com...]
If there is nothing dodgy going on then there is nothing to hide, and her footage wouldn't have even made it to air.
A crime is a crime. I believe that anybody, even a member of the press, should have our full support if he or she chooses to try to gather evidence about that crime.
If there are shocking and potentially illegal things happening there...
There aren't - you may want to educate yourself a little on this issue - she was offered press credentials and refused - the "crowd" following her out of the building were all the other reporters from major news outlets, who have free reign of the conference.
she was offered press credentials and refused
the original source: [blogs.zdnet.com]
By the looks of a very poor video, she didn't bolt, but walked away with amateur journos asking silly questions. - But hey, never let the facts get in the way a good story ;)
[edited by: Quadrille at 3:24 pm (utc) on Aug. 6, 2007]
[edited by: lawman at 7:12 pm (utc) on Aug. 6, 2007]
Do you seriously think that hackers are going to be disclosing criminal acts to someone with press credentials?
Actually, yes.
their behavior was just as despicable as hers..of course I supposethat's what happenes when you get a bunch of zit faced boys together in a room
The Feds, Press, and hacker community have built up a level of mutual trust at DEFCON so that we have a place to talk openly and honestly. After taking an unofficial poll in the press room here, not one person appreciated Madigan’s antics.
pretty much sums it up, she's a fool, the game was rather entertaining.
>> bunch of zit faced boys
that would be a stereotype
DEFCON official “Priest” also had reason to believe that that Madigan was planning to out uncover federal agents attending DEFCON and expressed some serious concern about the safety and privacy of those agents. Because of this, staffers used this to lure Madigan to the room where they planned to out her instead in front of DEFCON attendees in the “spot the undercover reporter” game but Madigan bolted from the scene before her photo was put up on the projector.
source: [blogs.zdnet.com...]
DEFCON is not a conference where criminal masterminds get together to talk about 'cracking' and coordinate their activities - it's a publicly announced, and well known, conference and not a secret gathering
[edited by: Tastatura at 6:44 pm (utc) on Aug. 6, 2007]
If there are shocking and potentially illegal things happening there, especially if they are under the nose of law enforcement agents who are failing to make arrests, then it is entirely in DEFCON's interest to let her expose those acts.
I have often noticed that many "shocking" events presented in the media only got shocking through the presentation. It is easy to guess how this would have worked at DEFCON:
The attendees at DEFCON include computer security professionals, journalists, lawyers, federal government employees, hackers and other professionals. Of course there will be some people that have done illegal things in the past and when they have had a beer to much will even talk about it. Then they cut it together and present DEFCON as a meeting of some kind of "Computer Mafia".
If you wanted to you could perform this kind of media stunt at any meeting - including a Webmaster World PubCon. And I do not think you would like to return from a WebmasterWorld PubCon and then see on TV that you just returned from the annual meeting of "computer criminals" just because they found one guy with a dark past that had a beer too much.
Unfortunately that is how some people (I hope not the majority) in the Media work. They already have the story they want to present in mind before they start "investigating" and then cut out what does not fit into the image.
fascinating stuff, always thought it would be a great thing to go to, as many feds as hackers there
They already have the story they want to present in mind before they start "investigating" and then cut out what does not fit into the image.
Yep.
