Korean 'journalists' Expelled From Defcon Black Hat Conference - Spy-on-Spy Action!

Conference Officials announced that 4 South Korean 'Journalists' had been ejected from the Defcon BlackHat conference in Vegas, after attendees became suspicious of their strange behaviour and dubious credentials.

Trojan 'Journalists' Ejected

Conference representatives released few details of the incident but they did say that on Sunday they had ejected the journalists two days earlier, after deciding that they simply weren't acting like normal press corp.

'Cyber-Tourists'?

They believe that one member of the group was a legitimate journalist, but that the other three were part of some sort of intelligence-gathering expedition.

Asking Strange Questions

Hackers who the group interviewed at the show said that their questions seemed strangely inappropriate, organisers said. The journalists had attended one day of Defcon's Black Hat sister conference before being ejected on Friday.

Normal Practice
Defcon did not release the names of the journalists or say who they claimed to work for but they did say that this kind of incident happens nearly every year. A comment made by the show's senior organisers who goes by the name "Priest."

The French Foreign Legion
In the past, they say they've caught members of Mossad, the French Foreign Legion, and other organisations posing as press. It is simply by registering as journalists, they can get more time to query researchers and if they do it correctly, they can raise no suspicions by asking probing questions.

Good Cover
"When you think about it, being a member of the press is a pretty good cover because you can ask difficult questions, people love to see their names in print and in neon lights, so they're much more likely to talk to you. You can get away with a lot more," Priest said.

Body Type
The French Legionnaires were easy to spot, he said. "There's a certain body type you find with people who are in that type of work," he said. "Broad shoulders, narrow waist, not very tall. I'm looking at these guys, thinking, 'You're in far, far too good shape to be a member of the press.'"

'Spot the Fed!'
The Legionnaires eventually admitted that they were not press and were allowed to stay at the show as regular attendees. They even went on stage for Defcon's annual "spot the fed" contest where people are invited to pick out government employees from a group of attendees.

Undercover techies
Government employees posing as press often move very quickly to technical questions, rarely showing any interest in the motivation behind the research. They get "very technical very quickly," Priest said. "They're much more interested in what the latest is and what the greatest is and how they can use it."

Intelligence gathering
Often they also ask about U.S. government systems or seem to be gathering intelligence on the presenters, he added and often attendees are happy to provide the information, thinking that it may be used in an article, particularly young, inexperienced hackers, Priest said.

Young Geeks
"You've got usually a very introverted individual (on the autistic scale), who usually doesn't have a lot of friends, and if you have someone paying some attention to you and your favourite subject, then, yeah, you're flattered; you're ego's being stroked; you're much more likely to try to impress that person."

Spy on Spy Action
So who is spying on the spies when the spies are spying on the hackers? or is that a cyclic argument?