Reporters expelled from Black Hat for snooping

Three journalists were given the boot from the Black Hat security conference this week after they stretched the tradition of victimizing attendees who use the conference's wireless network a tad too far. Huddling together in the pressroom, the three reporters from France-based Global Security Magazine--which also happens to be a media sponsor for the event--broke into the wired network meant for the press. They managed to retrieve the password and login details of two fellow journalists, which they then tried to submit to the Wall of Sheep project--which flashes this information on a projector in an attempt to shame insecure conference attendees.

Conference officials weren't amused--they were shown the door for their efforts. Kurt Opsahl, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stated, "It's important to have press come here and be able to communicate securely with their home offices. It's just not good manners to try and crack into the press office."

For more on what happened at Black Hat:
- check out this CNET News.com article