Comments on: Hacking DefCon http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/ Tech, Entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital in New York City Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:40:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: DA http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/comment-page-1/#comment-73702 DA Fri, 17 Aug 2007 21:03:40 +0000 http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/#comment-73702 One distinction between the 'black hat script kiddies' (who apparently you assume make up the majority of the attendees at DC) and the reporter is that the reporter was conducting herself unethically on behalf of a large corporation for profit. I am confused, when you say you side with the media on this one, exactly what is their position? NBC said they do not comment on their newsgathering techniques (so they don't have a position in regards to this incident apparently). She was never asked to leave (yes, she was 'spotted', but so are plenty of federal agents every year who happily jump on stage and win a t-shirt), but decided to leave on her own. I think why this story resonated is that reporters often appear as vultures (at 'breaking news' events) there are often throngs of reporters shoving cameras in peoples faces that are not looking for fame or interested in being on the news. In this incident a reporter who was attempting a 'gotcha' was instead exposed and got a first hand perspective as a subject of the news. Yes, she was trying to 'hack the convention', but as a rule hackers don't have much sympathy for clumsy hackers getting caught. I am relatively certain if she did not get caught in her clumsy attempt to get attendees to incriminate themselves that there would be a Dateline story that would continue to contribute to negative stereotypes. In regards to "The goal of hacking is...." Um, no. To get a better understanding of what goes on at DEFCON and a glimpse into the interests of the hacker community, I invite you to check out the presentations that were given there: http://defcon.org/html/defcon-15/dc-15-speakers.html. DA One distinction between the ‘black hat script kiddies’ (who apparently you assume make up the majority of the attendees at DC) and the reporter is that the reporter was conducting herself unethically on behalf of a large corporation for profit.

I am confused, when you say you side with the media on this one, exactly what is their position? NBC said they do not comment on their newsgathering techniques (so they don’t have a position in regards to this incident apparently). She was never asked to leave (yes, she was ’spotted’, but so are plenty of federal agents every year who happily jump on stage and win a t-shirt), but decided to leave on her own.

I think why this story resonated is that reporters often appear as vultures (at ‘breaking news’ events) there are often throngs of reporters shoving cameras in peoples faces that are not looking for fame or interested in being on the news. In this incident a reporter who was attempting a ‘gotcha’ was instead exposed and got a first hand perspective as a subject of the news.

Yes, she was trying to ‘hack the convention’, but as a rule hackers don’t have much sympathy for clumsy hackers getting caught. I am relatively certain if she did not get caught in her clumsy attempt to get attendees to incriminate themselves that there would be a Dateline story that would continue to contribute to negative stereotypes.

In regards to “The goal of hacking is….” Um, no. To get a better understanding of what goes on at DEFCON and a glimpse into the interests of the hacker community, I invite you to check out the presentations that were given there: http://defcon.org/html/defcon-15/dc-15-speakers.html.

DA

]]> By: candice http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/comment-page-1/#comment-70859 candice Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:22:44 +0000 http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/#comment-70859 Well, she failed to hack the system. Had she done the tiniest bit of a research she would have shown up as one of those annoying groupie chicks and gotten boatloads of bragging dirt. Well, she failed to hack the system. Had she done the tiniest bit of a research she would have shown up as one of those annoying groupie chicks and gotten boatloads of bragging dirt.

]]> By: Daryll Strauss http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/comment-page-1/#comment-70190 Daryll Strauss Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:28:16 +0000 http://blog.andrewparker.net/2007/08/04/hacking-defcon/#comment-70190 If you go to their conference you play by their rules. Maybe some of the participants were shocked that a reporter would do that, but you're right they shouldn't be. On the other hand, what should they have done when they found someone violating the rules. In the hackers case they often get arrested. Running her out of town and making fun of her is very appropriate. I think the bigger offense is that Dateline did their "hacking" so poorly. It will be interesting to see if anything else happens to her. The DefCon community has the ability to really make her life a mess, and it wouldn't even be that hard. I hope they don't. They have the opportunity to show they're bigger than that. If you go to their conference you play by their rules. Maybe some of the participants were shocked that a reporter would do that, but you’re right they shouldn’t be.

On the other hand, what should they have done when they found someone violating the rules. In the hackers case they often get arrested. Running her out of town and making fun of her is very appropriate. I think the bigger offense is that Dateline did their “hacking” so poorly.

It will be interesting to see if anything else happens to her. The DefCon community has the ability to really make her life a mess, and it wouldn’t even be that hard. I hope they don’t. They have the opportunity to show they’re bigger than that.

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