This session will comprise a panel discussion on the ways in which the media affects the security research community, why some seemingly insignificant security stories are hyped while other quite legitimate stories are ignored, and how the advent of news and research blogs has changed the way that security news is covered. The media have made stars out of researchers such as Dan Kaminsky, David Litchfield, Dino Dai Zovi and others, eagerly reporting their every movement, no matter how insignificant, and regularly play up low-frequency, high-impact stories like electrical grid vulnerabilities and Chinese government hacking. This has led to a high level of frustration in both the security community and the press that the only stories that get covered are the sensational ones designed to drive traffic and get on Slashdot. The discussion will focus on what factors drive the coverage of security stories, whether coverage of vulnerabilities and new attacks is a net good and how the media influence which flaws are patched and how quickly they're fixed.
http://www.blackhat.com/html/bh-usa-09/bh-usa-09-speakers.html#panel4
