<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nCvmkxO5hoQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nCvmkxO5hoQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Robert McMillan IDG News Service Updated: 06 Aug 2007 Dateline NBC Producer Michelle Madigan was publicly outed at the Defcon security conference in Las Vegas Friday after show organizers were tipped off that she was trying to film show attendees with a hidden camera. Madigan ran from the show after organizers publicly threatened to escort her from the event at the beginning of a 4 p.m. conference session by noted hacker HD Moore. "She literally kicked the door open," said "Priest," a show official who declined to be identified. "She made the mistake of running. Had she taken it like an adult, she would have been treated with kid gloves, treated with respect." Instead she left as Defcon organizer "Dark Tangent" (Jeff Moss) taunted her from the stage. "It came to our attention that a reporter might be here with a hidden pinhole camera," Moss told the crowd. He said that he had two options: to let her corner some 13-year-old and get him to admit to hacking, or to escort her away. Amidst clapping and cries of "burn the witch," from the crowd, Madigan left the building. The Dateline NBC producer continued out to a nearby parking lot, surrounded by a small crowd of show attendees and media, talking briefly on her mobile phone and not saying anything to the gathering crowd. Madigan was apparently already aware that her cover had been blown. Show organizers had been warning attendees all day of Madigan's presence and had repeatedly asked her if she would register as press, Priest said. And another show volunteer, who declined to be identified, said she had even admitted that she was videotaping the conference, telling him, "I have to go into the bathroom and put on my hidden camera," he said. Cameras of any kind are a strict no-no at the show, which bills itself as a gathering for hackers, both legitimate, and not-so-legitimate, and takes special steps to ensure the privacy of its attendees. The show keeps no list of attendees, except for press and speakers, and there's only one way to get in the door: paying $100 cash. Show organizers believe that Madigan had been looking to talk to hackers and federal agents, possibly with the intention of drawing attention to the fact that federal agents participate in a show whose attendees are known to skirt the law. "My guess is that she wanted a splash piece along the lines of, 'We have a whole bunch of people who are criminals. We have federal agents here as well,'" Priest said. Priest, who would only say that he worked in the "government" sector, said that the Dateline segment could have put federal agents at the show at risk by exposing their identities. Show attendee Michael Bender said that attendees could get into trouble with their employers if it was known that they attended the show. "We're talking about people's livelihoods," said Bender, a teacher at a Wisconsin technical college Defcon organizers identified Madigan after being tipped off by her associates, who Priest declined to name. After the incident, Priest showed reporters a complete dossier on Madigan, which included a photograph, phone number, job title and social security number. He would not say how he obtained it. Dateline NBC could not be reached for comment. Defcon's Moss said that he's concerned that the Dateline producers may have been trying to sensationalize the conference, thus undermining the show's goal of fostering a free exchange of ideas. "We researched them online and we see (the show's producers) do hit and run pieces," he said. "It's not actually research and news. It's just sensationalistic nonsense. And that makes us nervous." Media and bloggers have gone undercover at Defcon in the past, but nobody of the stature of NBC has ever tried this, Moss said. "I'm concerned that some impressionable kid... is just going to get cornered and is going to start bragging about stuff," he said. "The next thing you know, he's on nightly news." Defcon runs through Sunday at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Erik Larkin of PC World contributed to this story. http://computerworld.com.sg/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=2&articleid=5970&pubid=3&tab=Home&issueid=115
I've been to Defcon, and I can tell you this: you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy... It was entertaining, though.
is pissing off some of the world's best hackers really something you want to do? poor ms. madigan will never be able to have an email address again.
Hacker's conference in Vegas. It's known to attract both legitimate and shady people in the realm of computer security. It's not for the faint of heart.
This are some of the smartest people in the world not some dumb pedo. You don't mess with them. Expect this person to get her life hacked very badly.
Actually, I'd be surprised if she got life-hacked. All that would do would giver her more of a story to report. Also, the really smart hackers aren't nearly that brazen. They like to stay quiet and below the radar. The really good hackers take extreme efforts to lower risk and not get caught.
The already got her DOB and SS, how ling you think before they start making fake cc in her name; Get he actual CC? Some of these kids have nothing better to do.
I might expect that kind of behavior from a stupid newbie hacker. But any hacker with moderate experience wouldn't touch that.
like already said, that is doubtful Defcon may have some of what the media likes to call a "hacker", but in reality most show attendees are security specialists...the kind of people that first got the name "hacker" from being able to do unusual things with the machinery they had at hand. There is a HUGE difference between "hackers" and script kiddies (which are the kind of people that would do a revenge hack on NBC for this.) those kind of morons are way in the minority. if a *real* hacker were to want revenge, you would never know it was them, or even know how they did it. edit: agreed with WSC Air Langhi, you dont even know what a real hacker is, much less what they would do in this situation.
there is normally an event where a honeypot is setup, and the contest is to see who can get root on it in the most creative way. so yes....thats is one aspect alot of it is security related seminars and new equipment vendors and stuff liek that.
