NBC Blasts Claims That Richard Engel's Terrifying Sochi Hacking Report Was 'Fraudulent'

Business Insider's Brett Logiurato reports on the public disagreement about a recent Richard Engel's piece that purported to show how quickly your cellphone can be hacked in Russia:

In a statement to Business Insider, an NBC spokesperson said that "the claims made on the blog are completely without merit."

The spokesperson delivered a point-by-point response:

1. The spokesperson said it was clear from the start of the report that it was taped in Moscow. "Richard welcomed the expert to Moscow on camera, in front of a well-known Moscow landmark."

2. The spokesperson acknowledged that, "of course," this type of cyber attack could happen anywhere. "But the point we were demonstrating is that a user is more likely to be targeted by hackers while conducting search in Russia, and that such attacks happen with alarming speed from the moment a user goes online."

3. NBC said the story was designed to show how easily a non-expert could fall victim to a hack. "Just like any regular user, Richard went online, searched sites and was very quickly targeted and received a tailored fake message designed to trick him into downloading the software."