TechWag

In a rare moment of humor for the folks attending Defcon in Las Vegas, a Dateline reporter was busted by the Defcon crowd, and fled the scene rather than face the music. What the reporters credit rating looks like this morning we can only guess. The problem is that the reporter showed up and took hidden camera video with an agenda to tie the FBI to cyber criminals, only to find out that she was the one that was ratted out.

Defcon A rare moment of drama came to Defcon when a woman fled the conference after being identified in front of hundreds of other attendees as an undercover television reporter on a crusade to expose collusion between cyber criminals and federal agents.

The woman, identified by conference organizers as a producer for Dateline NBC, bolted a few minutes after a panel called Spot the Fed began. After being tipped off about the covert operation - and knowing the producer was in the audience - organizers announced to the standing-room only crowd that the contest was being changed to “spot the undercover reporter.” Source: The Register

While we really like the Dateline story, to Catch a Predator, the humorous part here for any undercover reporter is to make sure that their cover is not broken. Which apparently it was in this case. The rules of Defcon are fairly clear, no video, no pictures unless the conference attendee agrees to have their image taken. While this is probably meant to protect the identity of folks attending the conference, this also makes sense in other ways.

This is probably one of the few times that Law Enforcement and Hackers have an opportunity to talk to each other on a one on one basis. While the rest of the year they are playing a game of cat and mouse, being able to gather here, and not get busted, is an important way for both sides to know what is happening in each others worlds. At least as far as diplomatic issues go; no real transfer of information on a personal level is going to happen. Nevertheless, for everyone to know what they are up to, and how things are broken gives both sides an equal footing.

So to go in and try to prove collusion between the FBI and Hackers at Defcon is pretty stupid thinking that no one would figure this one out. Many points to Defcon folks, and no points for Dateline NBC on this one.

Tags: award, fun, idea //