Comments on: Defcon drama: Undercover reporter bolts after outing

NBC reporter learns the hard way that a conference of underground hackers is not a good place to attempt going undercover with a hidden camera.

[Leria]

Good for them

I'm glad that these DefCon people found this woman and chased her out of the building. If the woman really wanted to go to this thing as a reporter, she should have done it out in the open or not gone at all.

Dateline should also be taken to task for these methods, which they always lament when someone uses them against them, but don't when they are the ones using these methods.

[arcticmaniac]

What a bunch of Dorks!!

The dorks following the reporter to her car, what a bunch of morons. Get a life, they actually thought they were "cool" harrassing her but in reality they were the real DORKS!!!

She got kicked out, THE END. End of story.

What was the point in all that "drama"?

[thenet411]

Turning the tables

Once in a while we the little people actually get to turn the tables on the press. This was one of those occasions. This "reporter" attempted to infiltrate an event of security-minded people. How dumb could NBC be? She deserved everything she got. The press has a nasty habit of hounding people like they have some right to ignore the law and harass people. I love it when things like this happen.

Now, if only we could lie to, steal from, and ignore the politicians like they do the people they supposedly represent, life would be perfect.

[itango]

wrong!

She was the slimy one. She probably was trying to help her career by going to an open conference under false pretenses, and secretly videotaping what she hoped was illegal conduct. She was incredibly stupid on 2 counts:

1. Most if not all the people at the conference were waaay over her head in terms of technical competence; and

2. Since it was a public forum, at which the press was invited,and I am assuming most of the people there were usually smart (one needs to have SOME brains to be technically very competent), the chances that she could videotape anyone "confessing" to an illegal activity is probably slim to none.

Finally, a reporter being in the right place at the right time with a camera, and capturing a story, is completely different from a reporter trying to "create" a story through false pretenses. She is slime, and deserves to lose her job. I am glad they humiliated her - they were too nice.

BTW, I am not a hacker, I am a 58 yr old grandmother, who is far from being a technology expert. :-)

[JmboCov]

That girl is such a moron

Sounds like she was almost bragging about her hidden camera, what a moron she is..... Her video on youtube will probably get more watchers then her dateline video would have gotten.

[elkinsjake]

Dateline's Hype IGNORANT, not helpful

A little informative coverage about Defcon would have been great for the average viewer. Unfortunately, our news media has become a forum for sensationalism and ratings-grabbing hype machines. Gone is the story about how security experts can help us uncover rampant unsafe computer and electronics insecurities, what institutions are doing about it, and how individuals can act more responsibly. As an IT professional, I see users' lack of knowledge as THE huge security challenge of our time, and very few people are addressing the problem.
A big "thank you" to CNET and other tech sites that give a good accounting of tech news. I guess broadcast journalism just doesn't want to be taken seriously any more.

[OlderThanOld]

Broadcast "journalism"?

Remember recently how the FOX News website was accessed? That's only the most recent (until this little debacle) example of the lack of seriousness on the part of the old-line broadcast media. A lot of what I see anymore coming from national or international networks seems more like the hype-filled, fear-mongering sensationalistic nonsense I've grown accustomed to seeing on local broadcast outlets.

Is the rise of blogging and other internet media really causing the broadcast networks to forget how to do what they used to do well? Maybe their time has passed, and what we're seeing now is just an industry-wide form of creeping senility...

[curtismooney]

defcon 3

I suppose the clever disguise did,nt work

[Sleix]

The distraction didn't work! LOL

Dammit, that's the trouble...the breasts didn't distract them well
enuogh...either that or they were so clever as to think that indeed
the breasts were a trojan for something more suspiscious than
what'd normally be around that kind of place!

[Stating]

If I Want Sleaze, I'll Watch Maury

The Dateline debacle illustrates everything that is wrong with mainstream news today. It's infotainment folks. Why just report the news when you can make it up. NBC had an agenda, they had their spin, and they were going to twist the facts to fit that. Fortunately for us they were found out before they completed their mission.

Look at Dateline's website and the other stories they have covered. Their rhetorical question titles illustrate just how slanted they are. Why do people evn bother watching this cr*p?

[Craig Figley]

debacle

Apparently, in its struggle to compete for ratings, NBC has decided in favor of 'entrapment' journalism with its end-justifies-the-means mentality. It's not always the best approach to entice people to commit crimes, tape them in their moments of weakness, and then broadcast them to the entire world in the name of some higher cause. In this case, it was absolutely the wrong thing to do...face-to-face reporting and background research would have sufficed...and the lady got nailed and humiliated, as she deserved. Perhaps NBC should wake up and smell the karma. Let's all go back to the days of honest reporting, OK?

[Travis Ernst]

Techs and toys

Quoting Craig "Let's all go back to the days of honest
reporting.." Tell me ONE paper or station thats "honest".
Almost all media outlets are slanted. I perfer another word, but
I'll hold back.

If you want to get programmers/techs attention at these fests
you better have a good utility/toy for them to drool over.
Classics are always welcomed for strolls down amnesia lane
(colored boxes!!!) suction cup modems for a few "classics" a lot
of us remember.

Also remember to bring along your stockade of caffine. Jolt or
caffinated water. Caffinated breath mints will also work.

[n3td3v]

defcon is a human honeypot

defcon is a human honeypot, don't go

the place is swarming with undercover cops

like internet relay chat is as well, stay clear

[Mister C]

Oh . . when the tables turn!

And then she didn't even provide an interview.

They do this sort of thing to people all the time. Well I guess it's different when their the ones getting hassled.

Love the paybacks!

[Michael00360]

I almost feel sorry

I almost feel sorry for the reporter. BUT, considering that what she was doing could be an invasion of privacy, I think they should have escorted her out to begin with. Maybe now the reporters will have a taste of what it feels like to be on the other side of the camera

[martinintenerife]

Top line:

*sarcasm* Come back next year.

Classic!