By: Allison Burum, Edelman Dallas
Edelman client Entrust’s President and CEO Bill Conner was featured in the USA Today article, “ID Security CEO: ‘NYT’ hackers did their homework,” written by leading Technology Reporter Byron Acohido. In the article, Conner provided detailed commentary on how the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) orchestrated a spear-phishing attack that compromised the username and password of an ISP administrator, disrupting the media giant’s site for several hours. The article was published online on August 28 and received prominent placement on the USA Today homepage. It also ran in the August 29 print edition and was syndicated to more than 50 Gannett outlets.
How it Happened:
Edelman recognized from previous Twitter hacks that similar hacks would likely occur again, and worked with Entrust to develop pre-approved quotes on various scenarios and had a pitch ready to go. Preparing quotes ahead of time proved helpful in the past after the team realized that reporters in the space were writing quickly and pre-approved quotes and quick commentary generated leads and coverage.
This time, the team landed a big fish. When Edelman saw news that The New York Times website had been hacked on the afternoon of August 27, the team reached out to top-tier media contacts offering Bill Conner, a leading security expert, to lend commentary and insight on how the hack occured. The next morning, Byron Acohido of USA Today responded requesting fresh information as the Times’ website was still down. The team quickly set up a phone interview between Acohido and Conner, after which Acohido reached out throughout the day and evening to fact-check and ensure he had the highly technical details correct around the hack and the providers in question.
This was the first time Entrust had spoken to USA Today for an in-depth interview in more than five years, and the client was thrilled with the piece. The resulting article can be read here.
No comments:
Post a Comment