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NBC may be the latest culprit in disseminating fake “crazy Sochi,” stories, according to one cyber security firm, which claims that the news outlet’s recent report on hacking in Sochi is pretty much totally false. (Update: NBC has responded to this story below.)
This week, NBC aired a segment of Richard Engel allegedly showing his computer being hacked upon connecting to the Internet in a cafe in Sochi. According to Engel, “it doesn’t take long here for someone to try to tap into your laptop, cellphone, or tablet.” When introducing the segment, Brian Williams says:
As tourists and families of athletes arrive in Sochi, if they haven't been warned and if they fire up their phones at baggage claim it's probably too late to save the integrity of their electronics and everything inside them. Visitors to Russia can expect to be hacked, and as Richard Engel found out upon his arrival there it's not a matter of if, but when.
The message is pretty clear. In Sochi, the Internet hacks you.
Engel and security expert Kyle Wilhoit set out for a cafe, where they browse an Olympic website using a mobile device. According to Engel, the phone began to download malware “almost immediately,” and “hijacked our phone before we even finished our coffee, stealing my information and giving hackers the option to tap and record my phone calls.”