Hackers Turn Tables on 'Dateline' Operative

When Chris, and his crew do their "sting," Pedophiles are exposed. I find that rewarding, for the public, and children. Only perverts apply, no one make these criminals take the bait. These kinds of Conventions are really stupid. Hacker's are criminals, and should be treated as such. There is nothing wrong about exposing Pedophile's, there is something wrong about Hacker's having a convention.

You can't bkame anyone in this situation. It is what it is and let's leave it at that. Granted these folks acted badly when escorting her out and should have approached this situation differently however, she was afforded an opportunity to gain a press pass and did not. This also makes her liable for her actions.

Don't make more of this than what it is. No one was hurt and in this day and age that alone is something to be thankful for.

What a bunch of jerks these people are. A convention for Hacker is like a convention for car thieves!

Well...let's see now...a group of law breaking jerks....upset that someone was there taking notes on their illegal meeting.....and who's the bad guy/girl? All hacker's should be prosecuted. They are known to be very intelligent thus the ability to hack into other people's privacy. But I am wondering exactly how intellegent and cocky they are going to feel, when the federal government gets this film and starts idntifying some of these idiots. Will they be loyal and not sqeal on the others? It think not...but stay tuned America..what goes around, comes around. They may be giggling, cat calling and abusing this poor girl, but I wonder what they will be hollering when they are behind bars. This would be no diferent than someone trying to get info on a bunch of pedophiles or rapists. Those that do harm to others deserve no privacy. YOU GO DATELINE! And as far as Chris Hanson, he is true hero.

You people are completely ignorant. You have no idea what hacking is about and you have no idea what defcon is about. Its not about hacking peoples credit cards or other total bullshit like that. It's about learning and sharing knowledge, but i see that you people are too backwards to realize that some people actually like learning, instead of being stupid and getting ahead just barely in school. The geeks you look down upon are the ones who made your life easier and more enjoyable by pioneering the internet. YOu people should be disgusted with your sheer ignorance regarding this situation. Also, you claim that geeks have no girlfriends or social skills. Thats a stereotype that is childish and stupid. Geeks and nerds and everything in between are people just like you, only they arent titilated retardedly and blindly into following the masses. Free thinkers attract free thinkers. Maybe youre just too stupid to figure that out. Before you judge anyone else, take a look at youself. Think before you act.

stdestroyer, while very angry, is compleatly right.

you all judge us as identity thieves that are no better than a common criminal, stealing the worlds music and creating viruses. we are just people who enjoy learning about computers, how they work, how you can make them better, what makes them tick. or we are people interested in the phone network, how locks work, or even how the human brain works. for its all about looking for things maybe missed by the creator that opens up new features. others want to fix their stuff so it is more secure. you would be surprised how down to earth, and intelligent these people are. some of us aren't to bad lookin either. you are way to quick to judge. maybe think before you go posting about how we are all car thieves. we are not car thieves, we are mechanics looking to make our cars better and see how they work.

gosh stupid hacker... go hack a gibson

rofls says:
gosh stupid hacker

I believe in the truest sense, "Stupid Hacker" is an oxymoronic phrase.

A super weenie convention? All these geek dumb-a**es better believe the FBI was there also and they know who each and everyone of them is by now.
Hackers? they ought to hack all of your fingers off. What a bunch of losers.

Wake up! This reporter was *undercover* and anyone who accepts an *undercover* assignment, accepts the risks, as well as the rewards, associated with that assignment. She's a big girl and she needs to get a whole lot better at what she does for a living.

While the "hackers" (or, were they "crackers?") were somewhat immature in the manner in which they treated her (mild humiliation), imagine if she were *un-covering* a drug cartel, or secretly taping any number of "other" entities! I sincerely hope that she gets into another line of work, for her own safety... This was a job for professionals.

Michael Sanders
Saint Louis, Missouri

She was doing her job, not hurting anyone...regardless...the people "escorting her out" acted like jerks. - She was violating the rules of the convention, and invading the privacy of public citizens (not to mention attempting to place a connection between government employees, and illegal exploits.)

I have a solution to the whole so called hacker problem....

Make stronger hacker laws...it's as easy as that...then hackers will think twice before they think about messing with anyone else again.

example:Put them in jail for twice as long.

These hackers have been getting away with to much lately..it's time to put an end this BS!
You are an idiot, the term hacker does NOT imply criminal. it is false reporting such as the crap on Dateline, that has created that myth. Yes it is true that some individuals perform illegal activities using the internet. Things like ID theft, spreading viruses, and using another persons credit cards take little to no technical skill.
Hackers created the internet, they were members of MIT's tech model railroad club, and the Homebrew Computer Club, people like Steve Wozniak, and John Draper. Hackers are creators, they may step outside the laws, normally by breaking copyright protection in software, and hardware to improve it. Hackers improve the security of the internet. Hackers work in your IT department, run this website, and answer your tech support calls.


Stop believing everything that you hear on tv, and realize that the news is often made up to increase ads. Your children are safe on the internet, if you teach them not to be complacent morons. An intelligent child isn't going to meet a 40 year old man for sex, the likelihood of anyone proposing such an act to a child is ridiculous. Your neighbors, and babysitters are more likely to molest your children then a myspace user.


The number one crime committed on the internet is copyright infringement. The illegal downloading of music, movies, games, books, and software. The majority of the people committing these "crimes" are mostly computer illiterate middle agers, or pseudo-savvy teenagers.



DEF CON is a convention for security minded individuals - who have adopted the term 'hacker'. While these people do have the skill to 'hack', most are gainfully employed geeks (and to the quote "The geek will not inherit the earth. They will end up Whopper floppers instead." guess what... we already have, your using OUR creations to access OUR greatest creation... the internet. If life were left to people like YOU, the wheel would have never been invented.)

In Closing.... she got EXACTLY what she deserved, when your caught... admit your mistake accept the press badge and don't try to lie your way out of it. The longer the press is allowed to get away with their insidious, the more death and rudeness like Princess Dianna, and the more recent excessive coverage of the funeral of Anna. I agree with Freedom of the Press (I am quite patriotic) but I also agree with Freedom From The Press!


I hope you enjoyed my rant.

08/06/07 7:39 PM

\/\The Conscience of a Hacker/\/

by

+++The Mentor+++

Written on January 8, 1986
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager
Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...
Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain,
ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what
made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of
the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...
Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain
for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms.
Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."
Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is
cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I
screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through
the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is
sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is
found.
"This is it... this is where I belong..."
I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to
them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at
school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip
through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or
ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us will-
ing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the
beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying
for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and
you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek
after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color,
without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals.
You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us
and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is
that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.
My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me
for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual,
but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

+++The Mentor+++
_______________________________________________________________________________

it is funny that she is crying because they are making fun of her, and taking her pictures,, but she had a hidden camera! i dont agree with what the hackers do, they do alot of damage to many company's

There's an old saying "who watches the watchers?"

I would suspect that if some enterprising individual did some detective work they would find that NBC has IPOD thieves, ID thieves, and sexual predators on it's own payroll.

The oil companies are screwing us out of billions of dollars in windfall profits, and what is the news...? The news is that some 40 year old guy on the internet tries to hook up with some 40 year old guy posing as a teenage girl who, whatever her age, CONSENTS to the hookup.

Yvonne says:
"What a bunch of immature jerks chasing this woman. I be they don't have any girlfriends."

08/06/07 6:11 PM

Wow, the generalization of an entire group of people just shines with maturity doesn't it?

Hypocrite.

keith says:
"A super weenie convention? All these geek dumb-a**es better believe the FBI was there also and they know who each and everyone of them is by now.
Hackers? they ought to hack all of your fingers off. What a bunch of losers."

Once again, generalization. "What a bunch of losers." is a generalization. Geek dumb-asses? Isn't that an oxy moron?

The person that needs his finger hacked off my friend, is you, so you can't post ignorant bullshit like this.

TO: rcfcc........You make a very valid point in your post. However, you have to admit that it seems your thoughts would be a "no brainer" to these so called "wannabes". The problem is, it is such a simple solution and it is so close under their nose, they can't see it. Unless it involves something high tech and coded in some sort of jibberish text,this is their idea of being COVERT.