Undercover NBC Dateline reporter used underhanded tactics, outed at DEFCON conf.

[caligirl]

Undercover reporter Michelle Madigan (Associate Producer of NBC Dateline) got a little more than she bargained for when she tried to sneak in to DEFCON 2007 with hidden cameras to get someone to confess to a felony. When DEFCON staff announced the “spot the undercover reporter” game and told the audience that an undercover reporter was taking video to catch someone confessing to a hacking crime, Madigan bolted from the conference premises followed by a pack of ~150 DEFCON attendees and reporters trying to photograph and video tape her. DEFCON officials never got the chance to bring Madigan on stage to offer her a press badge so that she could cover the rest of the event above board.

DEFCON organizers caught wind of this from undisclosed sources and casually contacted Madigan to see if she wanted official press credentials and a press badge to cover DEFCON. Reporters in the pressroom were then fully briefed on the situation before the “spot the undercover reporter game” so that they could cover the event.

According to Senior DEFCON official “Priest” who works for the Government in his day job, Madigan declined press credentials on four separate occasions (twice on phone and twice at DEFCON). Madigan proceeded to register as a regular DEFCON attendee and even told a DEFCON staffer that she was going to the bathroom to get her hidden camera ready. When a DEFCON goon (staffer) explained to Madigan that secret video taping wasn’t allowed, Madigan not knowing she was speaking to a goon replied that she didn’t think it wasn’t a problem. The staffer then followed Madigan around and watched her as she panned her hidden camera around the entire “Capture the flag” room to get unauthorized video of the members.

Madigan was apparently trying to do a shock piece for NBC Dateline to show middle America how criminal underground hackers had descended on DEFCON Las Vegas to learn tricks of the trade and how Federal Agents were tracking them down. When a DEFCON staffer spoke to Madigan posing as regular attendee, Madigan commented that people in Kansas (reference to middle America) would be very interested in what was “really” going on in DEFCON. DEFCON official “Priest” also had reason to believe that that Madigan was planning to out uncover federal agents attending DEFCON and expressed some serious concern about the safety and privacy of those agents. Because of this, staffers used this to lure Madigan to the room where they planned to out her instead in front of DEFCON attendees in the “spot the undercover reporter” game but Madigan bolted from the scene before her photo was put up on the projector.

The sad part of this story is that Madigan was given every opportunity to get a press pass and get access to any of the speakers and attendees above board. Even after the secret video taping she was offered a chance cover the rest of the conference with an official press badge. This is my second year covering DEFCON and I’ve never had any problems getting photos or video from willing attendees and speakers but that’s not what Madigan was going after. She wanted to paint a picture that would shock “people in Kansas” about DEFCON and that’s not what DEFCON is about. The Feds, Press, and hacker community have built up a level of mutual trust at DEFCON so that we have a place to talk openly and honestly. After taking an unofficial poll in the press room here, not one person appreciated Madigan’s antics.



video of the whole thing here>http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=653

[AnnieBW]

1. I Was in the room when that happened

My husband and I were grabbing a snack in the breakout room and saw this dishy blonde walk by. She was carrying her purse in front of her, which seemed really odd and out of place. Most people here at DEFCON are wearing backpacks. My husband went to the talk that he was attending, and I went in to the one in the largest room. The track leader stood up and announced to everyone that they had a reporter here who did not have a press pass. They offered her a press pass one last time, which she refused. Then the appropriately-named "goons" escorted her out. I was in the back of the room, so I didn't see the pack of DEFCONners following her. They put her picture up on the screen, so that anyone seeing her again would know who she was.

Stupid twit.

BTW, this is my first DEFCON, and I'm surprised how mellow it is. The only thing that would shock the "people in Kansas" is how much of their tax dollars are going to fund the various Feds who are partying with the hackers. Many of the participants wear black and have tats and piercings. OTOH, I've seen husbands and wives (like me and my husband), people with kids in strollers, and at least one older gentleman with a DEFCON 3 t-shirt on. Other than being in extremely close quarters (I think that they got more participants than they estimated), everyone is really cool.