Off the record. Three words no reporter ever wants to hear. Unless the information in return makes the bargain worthwhile.
When I walked into the Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare one-day symposium in New York City, those were the first three words I heard. Nothing said at the conference could appear in a story, a tweet or even a text message. Unless I later obtained the speaker’s permission.
Daniel Garrie, founding editor of the Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare, (left) and Mitchell Silber, executive managing director of K2 Intelligence, talk during a rare on-the-record moment.
What at first seemed a burden turned into a blessing. Experts at the event talked freely about the fears that keep them up at night. It’s stuff that would keep up many Americans too, if they knew about it. That has been my driving objective with the ongoing Cyber Rattling series: Making people aware of the large, and rapidly growing, cyber threat.
As it turned out, I was able to talk with many of the experts in on-the-record conversations. And I was able to turn out this story about the potential for cyber warfare. The lines between cyber criminal acts and state-sponsored attacks are becoming blurry. More stories will turn up in the coming weeks and months as I continue to expand my coverage of this topic.
Andrew Conte 