Journalist, Security

February 6, 2003 9:25 AM

E-terrorism over-rated. Journalist Brian McWilliams exposes the media whoring of fellow "reporter" Dan Verton and "security intelligence" company mi2g. He shows just how easy it is to fake a "terrorist" organization online and finally gives some exposure to the amount of FUD that gets spread around by some reporters and a lot of comp. sec companies simply to make money. Though I don't think Verton gets it:

"Although the hoax this week taught me a valuable lesson about the nature of information on the Internet, it's less clear that McWilliams' scheme has done anything to advance the understanding of cyberterrorism."

Um...yeah Dan. He showed just how half-assed a job some people do in actually verifying sources and Internet-based information. Kudos to your anti-FUD efforts, Brian.
posted by bkdelong (8 comments total)

Giant chunks of blank space on the Mefi front page are akin to terrorism, if you ask me. :)

That's an interesting article, but I wonder just what in the hell McWilliams was doing. I thought journalists were supposed to report the story, not become the story. Maybe I'm wrong. I have been before.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:44 AM on February 6, 2003

Although the hoax this week taught me a valuable lesson about the nature of information on the Internet

A reporter from computerworld *just found out* that data found on the internet can be fake? I guess I'll continue NOT reading computerworld then.
posted by magullo at 9:48 AM on February 6, 2003

Giant chunks of blank space on the Mefi front page are akin to terrorism, if you ask me. :)

Sorry, used a P element in there.

I thought journalists were supposed to report the story, not become the story.

I honestly believe McW didn't think Verton would actually print either story without confirmation.....I mean, the DNS info was all but blank....he didn't even bother to check X-Originating IPs. I mean, jeeze.

I'd be more suspicious of McW if I hadn't recently read a bunch of his articles. He knows his stuff.
posted by bkdelong at 9:54 AM on February 6, 2003

FUD?
posted by yhbc at 9:59 AM on February 6, 2003

(F)ear (U)ncertainty (D)oubt
posted by chandy72 at 10:07 AM on February 6, 2003

This isn't the first time McWilliams has relied on questionable reporting procedures to obtain information for a story

I smell sour grapes.
posted by ook at 10:50 AM on February 6, 2003

A bit off-topic but re. the subject of claiming worms as terrorism, I remember during the war in (former) Yugoslavia NATO computers in Brussells went down. NATO originally claimed it was under attack from hackers in Belgrade, but it turned out to be the M elissa virus.e
posted by carter at 11:20 AM on February 6, 2003

Thanks for the definition, chandy.
(I'd been thinking "F***ed-Up-Drivel.")
posted by Tubes at 11:22 AM on February 6, 2003