11/08/2008

Three French journalists have been ejected from the Black Hat hacking conference after 'sniffing' the log-in details of fellow reporters.

All three worked for Global Security Magazine - one of the conference's sponsors.

They were caught after taking the details to the 'Wall of Sheep', a forum where security professionals who have left themselves open to hacking are shamed, but instead of the data being published the journalists were removed.

While they claim they were trying to 'educate the press', some of the experts have complained that the actions were illegal.

One, Kurt Opsahl of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said federal wiretapping laws may have been broken and is having his organisation investigate if legal action can be taken.

'It's not good manners to go in and try to crack into the press network here because it is so valuable to having the conference covered well,' he told Agence France- Presse.

'The press room is designed to be a safe harbour in a fairly stormy sea.'

The French-based IT publication has, unsurprisingly, had its sponsorship deal terminated.