Hackers Reject Poolside Hangout With Spy Agencies Mending Fences
By Phil Mattingly and Chris Strohm - Aug 1, 2013
Alex Stamos, an independent security researcher, recalls spending a casual two hours hanging out with National Security Agency employees at the pool during the 2012 Black Hat computer-security conference.
U.S. officials had similarly relaxed -- and often brief -- public appearances on Capitol Hill, where top-secret programs were the domain of sessions closed to the public.
Not anymore.
“This year, if I got the same request I would say, ‘Send me questions in writing or you can meet with me and my lawyers,’” Stamos, a member of the Black Hat advisory board, said yesterday in an interview at the annual Las Vegas conference, billed as the world’s largest gathering of security experts.
Intelligence leaders yesterday encountered pushback from key constituencies as they tried to mend fences in the wake of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures about the scope of classified programs that collect bulk data on phone and Internet use.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-01/hackers-reject-schmoozing-with-spy-agencies-mending-fence.html