Hackers, Journalists and the Ethical Swamp

The talk discusses the growing confluence between computer hacking and news media, and the ethical challenges it poses for journalists. It highlights the difficulty of exposing the source of information without being manipulated by hidden and malign actors who escape culpability.

• Hacking stories have become increasingly weaponized by those behind them, who have become adept at co-opting the media into covering their leaks
• Hackers have made direct contact with journalists to steer them towards a particular story, and have carefully triaged and strategically leaked data for maximum impact
• Journalists are in a difficult position as exposing the source of information could be unethical, but keeping them anonymous could result in being manipulated by hidden and malign actors who escape culpability
• The talk discusses the practical issues of approaching and working with news outlets and their staff, both in terms of security and anonymity, and the ethics of the eventual news coverage that results
• The talk highlights the challenge of drawing a line of best fit in the ethical swamp of weaponized data, as the speed with which news media and tech security are evolving makes it difficult to find a solution

The speaker mentions how Sony Pictures Entertainment had a team of people who went through every email released by the hackers to see if it matched the original email sent, which highlights the level of detail required to ensure the accuracy of leaked information. However, the challenge is that by the time a journalist discovers that an email has been minutely changed to give a slightly skewed impression, the story has already been reported around the world and no journalist is interested in the truth anymore because they've moved on.

As hacking stories have increasingly made news headlines, those behind the attacks have become ever more adept at co-opting the media into covering their leaks. From Ashley Madison and Sony to the 2016 US Presidential election, news coverage of cyber attacks has become increasingly weaponized by those behind them. Hacking groups have in some cases made direct contact with journalists to steer them towards a particular story, and in other cases have carefully triaged and strategically leaked the data for maximum impact. This has left journalists in a difficult position: exposing the source of the information could well be unethical, but keeping them anonymous could result in the journalist being manipulated to achieve the aims of a hidden and malign actor who escapes culpability.For hackers wishing to expose government or corporate malpractice, it raises practical issues about how to approach and work with news outlets and their staff; both in terms of security and anonymity, but also the ethics of the eventual news coverage that results. Handing information over to a journalist may mean handing over control of how it's used.In this talk, investigative journalist Geoff White (who has covered technology for, among others, BBC News, Channel 4 News and Forbes) takes five high-profile hacking incidents and analyses how they reflect key trends and tactics for working with (and some cases manipulating) the news media.