Dateline NBC Mole Outed At DefCon

An anonymous reader writes "Dateline NBC allegedly attempted to infiltrate the DefCon hackerfest with a producer using a hidden camera. The show hoped to tape hackers admitting to illegal activities, but DefCon got wind of the plot and displayed the would-be-mole's photo before every presentation. Dateline refused to deny the planned infiltration. 'All journalists covering DefCon sign an agreement upon registering for the conference that outlines the rules, but the DefCon organizers say the mole apparently registered as a regular attendee, thereby bypassing the legal agreement. Dateline NBC is best known for its controversial To Catch A Predator series, which uses hidden cameras to tape men who are allegedly seeking to have sex with minors they met online.'"

Comments

Re:Brilliant

[Asmor]

Seriously, I think merely being outed is probably the best that this guy could have hoped for. Woulda rocked if they'd fucked around with him instead.

"Whoa, never seen you before. Ah, what the hell, you look trustworthy. But before I tell you the details of my pub with 4 TB of CP I need you to do something for me... First, I need to know what size hat you wear and if you have any food allergies."

Journalistic Standards

[mdenham]

Aside from the fact that what Dateline does can only be called "news" in a very loose sense, isn't this the kind of BS we should be expecting from Fox News?

Or would they already be trumpeting how they got kicked out by the HACKERS ON STEROIDS?

That's clever

[Anonymous Coward]

Dateline refused to deny the planned infiltration. So there was someone trying to get them to deny the whole thing? Is that some kind of reverse psychology?

Re:Brilliant

[RobertLTux]

and next year Defcon will mod its civilian signup to close this loophole.

Note to the Muggles DO NOT TRY TO OUT TRICK A GROUP OF WIZARDS

this is darwin grade 2 guiness guys F[redacted] Brilliant!!

Now watch some NBC server will go wheels up "for no reason"

Re:Brilliant

[Asmor]

Read the story? You must be new here.

Re:Hmmmm

[megaditto]

Wouldn't it be funny if she were outed as the original tubgirl? Ultimate payback for nosing around, eh?

Fox News

[ZeroFactorial]

Their first tipoff was her "Windows Vista" t-shirt.

I can see the NBC headline now... "EXPLICIT picture of Dateline journalist EXPOSED at hacker conference!"

Re:Despicable

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Ethical? Journalist? I'm not sure I follow.

Re:Brilliant

[wytcld]

Ah, but NBC doesn't have to worry about hackers out for retaliation. What with their history of partnership with Microsoft (MSNBC) they must have the most secure computer systems on Earth.

Re:Nevada is a One-party Consent to Tape State

[thewesterly]

Few would agree the sky is blue.

That's because it isn't.

Re:simple freedom of the press

[Bassman59]

The point of the story is that you need to be really good at subversion to outsmart the most subversive and paranoid among us.

I'm sure the git and the bitkeeper people might have something to say about that.

Heh

[Have Blue]

It would be pretty funny if they didn't find Dateline's other undercover reporter.

Re:Despicable

[lastchance_000]

Yes, but the recordings STAY in Vegas.

Re:It's entrapment

[markov_chain]

At twenty-five, she's a computer geek's fantasy female: androgynous, beautiful, pierced, with comprehensive musical knowledge and a house overrun by pet Maine coons and an iguana. One of her favorite shirts features two cars crashing into each other under the symbol CTRL+Z.

Droolworthy so far... generally geeky, pretty, and my God where did she pick up the Unix shell streak???

"Get it?" she asks excitedly. "It's a car crash, and Control-Z is the command for undo!"

Nooooooooooooo no no no! *bangs head on wall*

Re:Despicable

[iamhassi]

here's real photos of the mole
photo 1
photo 2

Note to NBC: if you're gonna send a mole to a hacker's convention, try to pick someone other than the fairly attractive 20-something slim blonde.

Maybe you should have sent in one of those predators from To Catch A Predator? They all could pass for hackers.