XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: obamanosis@barackobama.com   
      
   An NBC report that claimed visitors to Russia would have their   
   phones and computers hacked almost immediately upon arrival has   
   come under fire from security experts who claim the segment is   
   misleading.   
      
   In the report, NBC's Richard Engel claims that visitors are   
   "especially exposed as soon as you try and communicate with   
   anything" and that hackers are "counting on" people to "log on."   
      
   The report quickly became a point of skepticism among security   
   specialists. Kyle Wilhoit, the expert involved in the NBC   
   segment, took to Twitter to discuss the piece. He said he will   
   be issuing a "white paper" that will clarify the details of the   
   security flaws that Engel highlighted.   
      
   Wilhoit did express some reservations with the report,   
   particularly with editing that may have presented evidence in a   
   misleading fashion.   
      
   Robert Graham, owner of consulting firm Errata Security,   
   highlighted the important details that he assembled from   
   Wilhoit's Twitter feed on his blog.   
      
   The story shows Richard Engel "getting hacked" while in a cafe   
   in Russia. It is wrong in every salient detail. They aren't in   
   Sochi, but in Moscow, 1,007 miles away. The "hack" happens   
   because of the websites they visit (Olympic themed websites),   
   not their physical location. The results would've been the same   
   in America. The phone didn't "get" hacked; Richard Engel   
   initiated the download of a hostile Android app onto his phone.   
      
   An NBC spokesperson issued a response to the blog post:   
      
   The claims made on the blog are completely without merit, here's   
   our response to each one:   
      
   1 From the very first frame it was made absolutely clear that   
   the piece was taped in Moscow. Richard welcomed the expert to   
   Moscow on camera, in front of a well-known Moscow landmark.   
      
   2 Of course this type of cyber attack can happen anywhere in the   
   world, but the point we were demonstrating is that a user is   
   more likely to be targeted by hackers while conducting search in   
   Russia, and that such attacks happen with alarming speed from   
   the moment a user goes online.   
      
   3 The story was designed to show how a non-expert can easily   
   fall victim to a cyber attack when they are deceived into   
   downloading a piece of malicious software that is disguised as a   
   friendly message or alert. Just like any regular user, Richard   
   went online, searched sites and was very quickly targeted and   
   received a tailored fake message designed to trick him into   
   downloading the software.   
      
   NBC also released a 3-minute video that delved into the   
   technology behind the piece.   
   The devil is in the details, of course. Words like "hacked" have   
   a wide berth and stir up fears that are easily manipulated. The   
   truth is at the same time more boring and even more dangerous   
   than Engel can communicate in three minutes and 45 seconds.   
      
   In reality, the security breaches Engel encountered are not   
   exclusive to Russia. Visitors may see more malicious links in   
   the average Olympic search result than in other countries, but   
   any users clicking on suspicious sites are bound to end up with   
   problems regardless of where they are.   
      
   http://mashable.com/2014/02/07/ncb-richard-engel-report-false/   
      
       
      
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