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Threats Growing from Yemen; Doctor with Cystic Fibrosis Beats Odds; Embassies on High Alert; NSA Chief Attends Hackers' Conference; Smart TV Watching You; Infamous Hacker on Today's Hacking

Aired August 04, 2013 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren sitting in for Don Lemon.

Well, high alert right now the U.S. has shut as many foreign offices, embassies and consulates over fears of a terror attack.

In the afternoon math of a bizarre deadly hit and run on Venice Beach, everyone is asking why would anyone do this?

And he is putting on a brave face but is A-Rod just hours away from a baseball suspension or worse, an outright ban?

Plus, meet the newest team member heading to the international space station. It is small, only a knee high. It could make big changes of how astronauts live in space.

Well, those stories and much ahead.

Well, it's one of those days when something happening in sports is making big news. Well right now, we are hearing that New York Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez will be suspended effective tomorrow and that is it for the rest of this season and all of the next.

Well, a formal announcement isn't made yet. The source of this detail is "U.S. Today." Well, they are reporting that major league baseball has already told A-Rod's lawyers and the players association the Rodriguez is no longer talk about a settlement. On the phone with me now, Andy Scholes from the "The Bleacher Report."

Andy, if the report is true, that meaning 215-game suspension for A- Rod, does that mean no lifetime ban?

ANDY SCHOLES, THE BLEACHER REPORT (via phone): Yes. That's exactly what it would mean, Anna. No lifetime ban which is pretty much a win for A-Rod. That's off the table according to this report by "USA today" and a suspension of 215 games would mean he would get appeal that immediately and while it is still process is going, he would get to play for the New York Yankees. But he is expected to be in the lineup tomorrow night in Chicago. And the appeals processes can take pretty long, three to four weeks. So, A-Rod could play in to September and the process now would go in to the point where it's in arbitration.

A-Rod's lawyers would be arguing why he shouldn't bet getting such a long suspension while everyone else is just getting 50, now A-Rod is getting a 215-game suspension and we got to see what would happen from there. But A-Rod would get play immediately starting tomorrow even suspended for 215 games.

COREN: Andy, we want to play a sound bite of Alex Rodriguez talking to reporters last night. He doesn't really sound like a guy who is about to ride the bench. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NEW YORK YANKEES INFIELDER: Excited to be playing tonight and even more excited about Monday. I feel I can't wait to see my teammates. I feel like I can help us win, I can help us be a better team and I haven't seen a lot of my brothers in a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: So he is still planning on traveling to Chicago.

SCHOLES: Yes. He will be in the lineup tomorrow night. Joe Girardi said he's planning to pencil him in. Ann an interesting thing about this, you know, A-Rod, he hasn't -- before the hip surgery he wasn't playing as well and Yankee fans were pretty down on him, as it was on the field. That was the full story. It would be very interesting to see how they react to him coming back in the lineup.

Now, the Yankees had been not getting much production at third base as it is. They are one of the worst teams in all of major league baseball at third base offensively. So, you know, A-Rod might boost the lineup because there are a couple of home runs in the minor leagues.

COREN: So, according to reports suspension effective tomorrow. When will we know something official?

SCHOLES: We should get an announcement sometime tomorrow of A-Rod's suspension along with all the other players involved with the biogenesis scandal. Those players are expected to get 50 games and according to reports most of them will just go ahead and accept their 50-game suspension and forego going through the arbitration process. A-Rod is the only one who reported that are going to fight this and by fighting this, it will be able to keep playing until a final decision is made by the arbitrator.

COREN: Well, I know you will be keeping a close eye on this story.

Andy Scholes, good to speak to you. Thank you.

So, while we wait for the official announcement of major league baseball, all we can do is talk about the A-Rod situation and what it means to the game.

Well, CNN's Jason Carroll did exactly that with three guys that talk baseball for a living.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you believe he is being targeted because of the amount of money that he makes and because of that lucrative contract he signed? Is he a target?

CHUCK HIXSON, USA TODAY: I don't think it's because of that. I think it's more because major league baseball feels he bowed down over them before.

CARROLL: So, you believe that the league is out to get him, Rodriguez?

HIXSON: I think there's a little bit of a grudge because, you know, he has admitted it and yet they haven't been able to do anything to him.

CARROLL: And some ways he would be an easy target. He has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in the past. He is not been playing particularly well by his own admission and he is making a lot of money.

ANDREW MARCHAND, ESPN: Well, the money is a factor in the whole thing. I mean, he has owed nearly $100 million. So, you can't take that out of the equation.

CARROLL: And what do you think?

MARCHAND: I think the reason they don't like him is because he's always been sort of a fly in the ointment, never particularly likable person.

CARROLL: And why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's pompous. He's -- you know, he often thought of himself as bigger than the game and been a huge part of the game.

CARROLL: Do you think he loved the game so much he's willing to do anything to play it?

MARCHAND: Well, I mean, look. If you look at it in the current scandal, when he did the performance-enhancing drugs that they are alleging, it was after the big contract. So you know, is that vanity? Is there some integrity there? I don't know.

CARROLL: What do you think?

CARROLL: I think it's a combination. Again, this is alleged if he did it or not. We don't know for certain. If you go on the assumption he did do it, I think there's vanity and a performance level he wants to achieve even though he has the money.

HIXSON: I don't doubt for a second he loves and respects the game. I don't doubt that at all. You know, there's a lot of pressure on a guy when you get it that kind of a contract. I think that you do want to put up certain numbers and maybe you do buy in to that a little bit where you need that extra help to do it.

CARROLL: Should he be allowed to keep playing?

KEN DAVIDOFF, NEW YORK POST: That's a great question. And there are two different legal avenues to take there. One is, yes, he can. One is, no, he can't. I mean, there is two different routes that maybe baseball can take.

CARROLL: What do you think? What would you like to see happen here?

DAVIDOFF: Well, for my own selfish purposes, I would like to see him play because it's a great story. In terms of justice, I really think either way is justified.

CARROLL: Thoughts on that?

HIXSON: I think he can justify it either way, as well. But, you know, I think to be fair he probably should be allowed to play because if it were to come back that he didn't do these things, then you have penalized him by not playing.

CARROLL: Why do you think this particular story, the question may seem obvious, why do you think this particular story taken on the life of its own and beyond the sports world in to the news world into the news?

MARCHAND: It's a soap opera. Alex Rodriguez, one of the most famous athletes in the world, he has made, like I just said, close to half a billion dollars. It is the New York Yankees who you could argue are the most widely known professional sports team in the world. You add that all in and you have all kinds of different stories and there's a lot of intrigue.

I think there is so many things to this story that it's a human interest story. You know? And people wonder, did he do this just for the money? Just for the pride? You know? They want to hear him say, you know, I did it and here's why. And I think everybody's waiting for that. And I don't know if they'll ever get it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Jason Carroll there asking the right questions with people in the know.

Of course, we are staying on top of this news about Alex Rodriguez, the moment we hear anything solid about his possible suspension, we will bring it to you. And I will break it down with CNN sports and Rachel Nichols right here in the 6:00 p.m. eastern hour.

So stay tuned for that.

Well, turning to other news, California, a horrific hit and run disaster along the Venice's famed beach boardwalk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like something out of a movie, something you never expect to see. There were people flying, lying on the ground. Tents flying, everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, the car drove in to a crowd of people along the busy boardwalk just before sunset yesterday evening killing one person. Well, police have now made an arrest.

Let's go to Nick Valencia live in the CNN center.

Nick, what do we know?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The suspect turned himself in Santa Monica just a few miles away from Venice beach where that incident took place. 38-year-old Nathan Campbell is being held on $1 million bond. He is being charged with murder. The LAPD tells me that there's no connection between Campbell and those that he ran over. At this point, they say that it just looks like one guy bent on doing evil.

Now, as far as how he actually got on to the boardwalk, there's no barricade there, Anna. Speaking from personal experience, I grew up in Los Angeles, I have been to Venice beach a number of times, and whether intentionally or accidentally, it's very easy for cars to get on to that boardwalk. In fact, police cars customarily cruising up and down that boardwalk after hours.

Now, police say this man had every intention of getting on the boardwalk and injuring people -- Anna.

COREN: Nick, witnesses say many people that were hit were covered in blood. What do we know about the victims?

VALENCIA: Just a tragic circumstance for all those that were injured but especially for one woman. A law enforcement source told me that a woman who was killed, the woman who was killed on her honeymoon. Her husband made the statement to police, very disturbing details coming out from Venice beach. If this man's intention was to injure people as police are alleging, he did it at the right time of day, 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday, just as the sun is going down, just a couple of hours before sunset. This is the time when tourists are there. Residents are there. It's a time when Venice beach is packed with people -- Anna.

COREN: Absolutely tragic. Nick Valencia joining us from CNN center, thank you.

VALENCIA: You bet.

COREN: We have new developments in the terror alert that shuttered many U.S. embassies. Late word that some of those closings are being extended. We go live to Washington for the latest. That's next.

And could you see the future face of space travel? It may just be. This little robot just blasted off hitting space station.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COREN: Welcome back.

Well, new developments on the global terror threat keeping the world on edge. CNN has learned that 22 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Northern Africa will be closed through August 10th. Well, concerns are rising that al-Qaeda might be on the verge of launching a major attack. One intercepted message from senior al- Qaeda operatives triggered the security concerns.

Right now, those embassies and consulates are on lockdown and several more will be shut starting tomorrow. The threat sparked a worldwide travel alert for Americans.

Let's bring in Emily Schmidt in Washington.

Emily, how is President Obama tracking these developments?

EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anna, President Obama spent a lot of the weekend at the Camp David. It is his birthday this weekend so he was celebrating. But the same time, the White House has been very clear that he has been briefed on what's been happening and the national security team has been meeting, as well.

And now, we are seeing some developments as we say what happens after today? New word from the state department about will happen with the embassy closing. Nineteen posts are now going to be closed through next Saturday. That is August 10th. When you look at the map it includes up to few new addition allocations that were not closed before. However, on the flip side, nine posts that were closed today are going to be allowed to reopen tomorrow. The state department says it's extending the closures out of what it calls an abundance of caution and it says shouldn't read it as any kind of an indication of a threat stream.

But meanwhile, we are learning more about what led to these embassies shutdown so, getting the information from CNN's Barbara Starr. She reports an intercepted message of senior al-Qaeda operatives and just a past few days was what really caused the concern. You should know that CNN agreed to a request from an Obama administration official not to go in to the details about the message because of its sensitivity. You know, those closures were announced for today, that's nearly passed in some of the countries where the embassies were affected.

But on the Sunday morning talk shows we saw something we don't always see, agreement between Democrats and Republicans who say no matter what happened today, they believe the administration did the right thing by shutting down those embassies and consulates. Agreement ends, however, when it comes to how the U.S. gathers intelligence. Of course, that's an issue in the forefront since NSA leaker, Edward Snowden, revealed the U.S. monitors domestic telephone. Whether or not that program was used to uncover the latest threat, the threat provided a platform for lawmakers who support the program and for those who oppose it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: NSA program is proving its worth yet again. And to the members of the Congress who want to reform the NSA program, great. But, if you want to gut it, you make us much less safe and you are putting our nation at risk.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: And I know Senator Graham said at this shows that we need to continue this particular programs. But if you look at the one most at issue here, that's the bulk metadata program, there's no indication unless I'm proved wrong later that program which collects vast amounts of domestic data, domestic telephoning data contributed to information about this particular plot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHMIDT: So again, we are going to see a number of embassies remaining closed after today. It's something that originally officials said could happen and go beyond Sunday and just within the past hour or so, Anna, we have learned that a number of these will be closed until Saturday.

COREN: OK. Emily Schmidt joining us from Washington, we appreciate that. Thank you.

Well, in an unprecedented move the U.S. extending the closures to some embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa. The breadth of closures stretches now from Bangladesh to Libya. Well, each diplomatic post is watched carefully for any possible sign of any pending attack.

In Cairo, thick blast walls block roads near the U.S. embassy. In Bangladesh, cars and bags searched and scrutinized. In Yemen, at least a dozen tanks protecting the American embassy there, all roads leading to the embassy are closed. Well, hundreds of extra security forces are guarding key areas in Yemen's capital.

The U.S. military is ready to respond at the first sign of trouble. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has the latest details on where U.S. marines are right now poised for action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: What we know now is in three locations military forces, mainly marines, on a higher state of alert ready to go very quickly. What are the locations? There are marines in Southern Spain, in Southern Italy and in the Red Sea. These are all combat equipped marines that could move very quickly if ordered.

There are other units in the area that could go and reinforce embassies if it came to that. Everyone would be equipped to help evacuate American citizens if there was a situation that required it. Basically this is an effort to make sure that there is plenty of force available nearby ready to move.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COREN: Barbara Starr joining us there.

Well, this is news coming in to us. A red alert issued to Pakistan's capital city, Islamabad. Well, two senior Pakistani officials tell CNN they have information about a likely attack on a high-value target.

CNN's Saima Moshin is on the phone from Islamabad.

Saima, what can you tell us?

SAIMA MOSHIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Anna, just coming to me now, there are helicopters flying overhead in the capital city. What I can tell you from these officials that we have spoken to (INAUDIBLE), they told us that commanders are currently in the Margala (ph) hills. Now, this is a section of hills surround the capital city and they overlook key installations, military installations and, of course, government buildings, too.

What I understand from the high-ranking officials is that they have received information from some kind of an intelligence intercept and they understand that potential the air force headquarters and the naval headquarters could be a target for militants and militaries could currently be in the Margala (ph) hills, a search operation is under way. There are helicopters flying above. We understand commanders are searching through the hills.

And just an idea of who, too, Anna, just down the road from these military installations is the parliament building, the presidency, prime minister's house, various other government buildings and the (INAUDIBLE) where all the embassies are housed, too.

Now, this of course, just come to a few days after a huge jailbreak was carried out by the Taliban in an area called (INAUDIBLE) and the tribal areas. But right now, this is a very close to home now. This is in the capital Islamabad and Islamabad tonight is on red alert -- Anna?

COREN: Saima, is there a warning to stay indoors? Is there that sort of communication put through the system?

MOSHIN: The trouble, Anna, is in Pakistan, when we have incidents like this, there seems to be a kind of shotgun of information rather than sharing of information as we often see in the west. The military police, they tend to close down and don't share information. Certainly, my sources that are these top ranking officials are saying stay indoors. Please stay away from crowds. But that certainly not going out to the general public as any kind of public service messages, but from the people I have spoken to trying to gather information tonight, everyone is very much staying inside. People are very scared. They are hearing these helicopters above. They are not sure quite what's going on and very limited information being shared.

As you can imagine, if there's a red alert, as well, the military and the police don't necessarily want to inform the potential militants that might be out there, what they're doing and where they are carrying out these search operations, too. But as a few understand it, they believe that it's not any kind of public target that is are potentially the target but government or military buildings -- Anna?

COREN: As you say, those are higher value targets.

Saima Mohsin, joining us from Islamabad, we appreciate the update. Thank you.

Well, Twitter says it will change the way some people use their social media service. Well, how it's changing and the terrible reason why. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, Powerball players setting the sights on Wednesday after no tickets matched all six numbers in last night's drawing. The $300 million jackpot now grows to $400 million. Well, it is enough to make anyone happy. $400 million is nowhere near the record high. Well, back in June, an 84-year-old Florida woman won Powerball's $590 million jackpot after a very kind stranger let her step ahead in line. Hopefully she shared some of the winnings.

Well, Twitter is cracking down on abusive behavior on its site. The social network says it's rolling out in tweet. It is a button to report abuse and make it easier for victims to get help. The move comes after rape and bomb threats were posted against women in the UK. Twitter says the "in tweet" button is now part of the latest version of its app for Apple devices. It will available for android users next month.

In Colorado, a day of wild weather, residents certainly won't forget any time soon. Remarkable pictures out of Windsor, a blanket of hail on top of several feet of floodwater. It rained for hours when hail started to fall. Stones the size of golf balls and, get this, baseballs were reported in some spots.

Well, spending time camping in the great outdoors may help you sleep better. That is according to a new study. Researchers say a week of camping reset the internal body clocks of eight volunteers. Their sleeping patterns synchronized with the timing of the sun rise and sunset. Well, there groups spent one waking Colorado's rocky mountain surrounded by natural light. It is hard to say artificial lights from TVs or computers disrupt sleep.

Well, A-Rod will be suspended Monday. That is according to "USA Today." We have got the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Welcome back. I'm Anna Coren in New York.

Well, not yet official, but a major newspaper is reporting that Alex Rodriguez is out for the rest of the season and all of 2014. Well, it's the highly anticipated suspension for A-Rod and about ten other big leaguers on allegations they used performance-enhancing drugs. The manager of the New York Yankees says Rodriguez is in the lineup for tomorrow's game in Chicago.

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. extending the closures of embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa. The breadth of closures stretches from Bangladesh to Libya. Each diplomatic post is being watched carefully to any possible sign of an impending attack.

In Cairo, thick blast walls are blocking roads near the U.S. embassy. In Bangladesh, cars and bags are being searched and scrutinized, while in Yemen at least a dozen tanks are protecting the American embassy there. All roads leading to the embassy are closed while hundreds of extra security forces are guarding key areas in Yemen's capital.

Well, security is so high in Yemen because that's where U.S. officials say most alarming al Qaeda threats have been emerging from.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reveals all from Washington.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Anna, U.S. and Yemeni officials have watched a rising stream of intelligence tips for weeks about the possibility of a major terrorist attack in Yemen but grew increasingly alarmed after getting an intercepted message involving senior al Qaeda operatives.

CNN has agreed to a request from an administration official not to disclose details of that intercept because of the sensitive nature of the information. But it underscores what the U.S. sees as the rise of al Qaeda in Yemen and the possibility of an attack against U.S. or Western interests there and across the Middle East and North Africa.

While the Obama administration decides whether to reopen embassies, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered Marines in the region on to a higher state of alert, including several hundred stationed in southern Italy and Spain and 1500 Marines on 3 Navy warships will now also remain off the coast of Yemen -- Anna?

COREN: Barbara Starr, as always, thank you.

Well, ahead to two American embassies next and get reports from our correspondents on the ground.

But first, in this week's "Human Factor" a doctor living with cystic fibrosis defies the odds and lives his dream.

And here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every day now Chuck Fox is beating the odds.

CHUCK FOX, GASTROENTEROLOGIST: When I was born, the average life expectancy for somebody with cystic fibrosis was 18 years old. Currently, they estimate it to be 38 years old. Last year I passed that threshold.

GUPTA: When he was born, Chuck's parents were determined to see him thrive, even though doctors warned he may not survive.

FOX: I have to wear this mechanical vest every day to just help keep my lungs clear and help me breathe. Get hooked up to that. And it's basically like doing physical therapy for your chest and for your lungs.

GUPTA: And like his parents, Chuck didn't allow the skepticism he encountered to discourage the dreams of becoming a doctor himself and having a family.

FOX: If anything, it just sort of made me want to do it more. And just prove that I could do it.

GUPTA: And that's exactly what he did. Dr. Fox graduated from Harvard Medical School and has been a practicing gastroenterologist now for eight years. He and his wife Amy, they just celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary. And they're proud parents of 11-year-old twins Sidney and Ben.

FOX: I would say I'm the luckiest person I know.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: It's now past or approaching midnight across the Middle East and North Africa and so far all appears quiet, but U.S. officials aren't close to putting down their guard after closing nearly two dozen embassies and consulates in the region today amid growing threats from terrorists namely al Qaeda.

Well, two cities of concern are Abu Dhabi and Cairo.

Well, let's see what's happening there. Let's start with Becky Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The U.S. embassy in Abu Dhabi is about a mile away from this bureau here at CNN. You can see there at my left shoulder, the building with the sloped roof.

We've been down to the embassy today. There are no staff, even though this is the beginning of the working week, it is closed this Sunday. There are Marines there but that is normal. They secure the facility. And there are official postings saying that nobody must film. Again nothing out of the ordinary in the UAE here.

The embassy's Web site in Abu Dhabi says this and, I quote, "Out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others, who may be visiting these installations, we are taking these precautionary steps." They go on to say, "It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well depending on our analysis." Well, CNN spoke to a European ambassador here in the UAE who said that he believes that the U.S. is veering on the side of caution with the attack of course in Benghazi facility in Libya and the ongoing turmoil in Syria and in Egypt.

This is Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind this blast wall the U.S. embassy in Cairo. We're not allowed to film in there.

Now this location may be a particular concern because Egyptian officials say that back in May they detained three men who were plotting to attack it. Those men are believed to have ties to al Qaeda and the Islamic Maghreb.

And it was also around a year ago on September 11th that in this very street an angry mob tried to attack the U.S. embassy here, incensed over the release of a film that was insulting Prophet Mohammed.

And it was also on that very same night that we saw the coordinated complex attack against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. So the United States understandably not wanting to take any risks when it comes to securing its facilities and its diplomats.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Arwa Damon joining us there.

Well, a rocket blast off to space and this mini talking robot is tagging along. How it will help crew members get in touch with their feelings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, ignition. And lift off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: All systems are a go for a historic high-stakes mission to space. A Japanese rocket blasted off to the International Space Station overnight loaded with supplies and one very precious piece of cargo.

Well, his name is Kirobo. And don't judge him by his size. The talking robot standing at just 13 inches tall could become man's best friend in space. Well, that's the intent in part. And Kirobo's Japanese creators programmed the mini robot to see how a nonhuman companion can provide emotional support for people isolated over a period of time. Kirobo is due to join the six-crew members at Space Station on Friday.

I wonder what his hugging is like. Well, now to the NSA chief who heads to Las Vegas to ask for help in defending the United States. The surprise is who he asked for help from. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, it's been another tough week for the NSA. The deputy director testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee trying to explain recent leaks about the information they're gathering on everyday Americans. But his boss, the NSA director, went to Las Vegas. No, it wasn't a pleasure trip as far as we know. He spoke at a conference of computer hackers.

CNN's money tech expert Laurie Segall was there earlier. I asked her to explain to us what exactly is Black Cat.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: Essentially, think about this. A bunch of hackers in one room just kind of playing around and talking about what they found. So Black Hat is essentially they gather the best and the brightest hackers around the world and when I say hacker, I can mean security consultants, folks that are contracted by the government. I mean, all different types of people come to Black Hat to talk about security risks essentially.

COREN: Well, NSA director Keith Alexander, he addressed these hackers for some 45 minutes. Basically, it was a bit of a recruitment drive asking for their help. What did he say?

SEGALL: He did. You know, when you think of a group of hackers in Las Vegas, you don't think that government officials are going to come there, but they absolutely do because you have to take a step back and say, well, these are the brightest minds in the business and a lot of times these folks come in and they call for help.

You know, a lot of folks were shocked that General Alexander would actually come and show up in light of all the recent events and the revelation with the NSA in these leakings. He actually called on these hackers for a little bit of help.

I think you're going to be very interested at what they had to say. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. KEITH ALEXANDER, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY DIRECTOR: You're the greatest gathering of technical talent anywhere in the world. If we can make this better, the whole reason I came here was to ask you to help us make it better. And if you disagree with what we're doing, then you should help twice as much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Read the Constitution.

ALEXANDER: I have. You should, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SEGALL: Obviously, you know, the reaction is a little bit mixed. But people did applaud him for actually coming and talking to these folks that this is a tough crowd. These are the technical people in the business and they know what they're talking about.

COREN: You mentioned them being a tough crowd. I mean, he was heckled.

SEGALL: You could think about it like this. I joke, it's like Batman. These guys are hackers and they have the power to do bad and they have the power to break into things we -- devices we own. Right? But a lot of these guys are using that power for good. They're helping with security. They're helping expose flaws in systems that need to be exposed. You know, maybe we own a television and there's something wrong with it.

These guys aren't trying to sell the television. They're trying to find a security flaw in that. So that's why the government oftentimes looks at these folks when it comes to national security.

COREN: So other than the address by General Alexander at Black Hat, you also attended Def Con. What else was being spoken about?

SEGALL: You know, the big thing and a lot of times these guys, these folks will get together and they'll talk about major security flaws, what's a hackers' playground? What are we doing wrong? Well, a big trend this year is home automation. So I've gotten on and I've spoken about home automation. Essentially, your home can now be connected to the Internet. So that could mean I could open and close my garage door using my smartphone because of a connected device that I put in my home and that's a huge trend this year.

But because of that and because a lot of these companies are building out these different types of technology and there's a lot of innovation here, there is a lot of room for hackers to play. And I want to show you one example of a guy who actually was able to do something pretty interesting. He was a hacker that showed and demonstrated this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL CROWLEY, TRUSTWAVE: For instance with this door lock, I can tell the Varilight please unlock the door.

SEGALL: And you just did that in a click.

CROWLEY: That's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEGALL: Anna, the idea that this guy could -- with a couple lines of code -- unlock and lock my door is very scary and that was just a beginning of it. We spoke to some guys who were able to hack cars to a point where they could stir -- they could take control of your steering wheel using their computer. And that's pretty unbelievable. We also -- I saw a guy who has something called a spy phone. He was able to inject malware into an android phone and essentially take it over to a point where he could get all my contacts, he could take a picture of me, he could record my calls. I mean, that's unbelievable and one that was really eye-opening which we're actually going to show you was a smart TV hack where they could -- you watch TV but they could actually make the TV watch you with a hack.

COREN: Well, that's what we have got coming up next. One hacker shows Laurie just a couple of lines of computer code, how it can be used to turn a television into a camera looking right into your living room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: With all the new gadgets coming out it almost feels like we are living in a science fiction novel but there are dangers as Laurie Seagall explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: What's really eye-opening here is you watch your TV but with this hack your TV can watch you. Show us how that works.

JOSH YAVOR, SECURITY ENGINEER ISEC PARTNERS: So one of the things that we're able to do with the smart TV platform was actually abuse the browser to the extent that we could actually gain access to the camera that's built into the TV.

SEGALL: Right.

YAVOR: And so what we can prove here is that with a little bit of extra code we can turn the camera on in your browser.

SEGALL: Wow.

YAVOR: And while this is evident to you right here because we -- because we've designed it that way, this is something that we can do invisibly and actually have the camera running behind the Web page that you're looking at.

SEGALL: So what this means is I could be sitting here watching TV from my bedroom and you could be anywhere in the world looking at this image of me watching.

YAVOR: Yes, I could be sitting at a laptop in a cafe in Paris. And as long as I have network connection, I'd be able to get into your TV and access the camera.

AARON GRATTAFIORI, PRINCIPAL SECURITY CONSULTANT, ISEC PARTNERS: The kind of scary thing about it is that it doesn't actually give any indication that the camera is on and there is no little LED that shows up when the camera is on. So it could actually be watching you and you'd never even know.

SEGALL: What is a smart TV and why is it a playground essentially for hackers?

GRATTAFIORI: Right. It's a computer. So instead of just being, you know, a tube and some other electronics, now it has a Web browser and it has, you know, a lot of devices running Linux. Access the actual windowing system that the TV runs just like a normal Linux systems so I can go ahead and just kill that right now and the TV should turn black.

YAVOR: But the real danger is when people start using smart TVs for things like online banking we can take a popular bank address and translate that into a different IP address to a site that -- that directs to a site that we control. So it may look like you're being logged in, but you're actually entering and using password that goes to us instead of your bank.

SEGALL: In a statement to CNN Money, Samsung says it takes consumer privacy very seriously. "The camera can be turned into the bezel of the TV so that the lens is covered or disabled by pushing the camera inside the bezel. The TV owner can also unplug the TV from the home network when the smart TV features are not in use. As an added precaution we also recommend that customers use encrypted wireless access points when using connected devices."

When people see this and listen to this they're going to think, you know, my god, can people actually watch me from my television? Can you -- can you definitively say that that has been fixed?

GRATTAFIORI: That -- I mean, this issue has existed even on, you know, laptops. It's a lot harder now because, you know, different companies have taken a lot of efforts to make that difficult. But the fundamental flaw is still possible, you know, even on a modern computer. It just takes somebody to, you know, find the right exploit and leverage it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Laurie Segall reporting there.

Well, now Kevin Mitnick, knows a thing or two about cybersecurity. He was once a fugitive from the law at the time the most wanted computer hacker in the world. He was eventually caught and spent five years in prison.

Well, much has changed since then. Today Mitnick is a computer security consultant and earlier he sat down with Laurie Segall, and she asked if he thinks these new smart devices could pose a security threat to all of us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN MITNICK, COMPUTER SECURITY EXPERT: Well, certainly it's an increased threat and it's amazing how easy they are to hack because a lot of these manufacturers don't even think about security. They're creating an appliance, they're selling it in the market and then, you know, they're good to go. And now when the media covers Black Hat and Def Con, and these guys are hacking these devices and they go uh-oh, we've got to go back to the drawing board and fix these problems.

SEGALL: So, I mean, are new security -- is the new wave of security going to be hackers like you guys who -- when the security is not baked in you guys are hacking the device to get that security --

(CROSSTALK)

MITNICK: It's like hack the planet. Whatever we could hack we're going to hack. You know, it's kind of looking at cool stuff, cars, you know, recently televisions, you know, stuff that people use in their everyday life that if somebody hacks it it'd be kind of scary and cool. So that's where kind of the security research is going.

Not like with the TV hack, you know, is it -- you know, is it really practical? Because it requires that a hacker tricks somebody with their TV browser going to a particular Web site, for example, to attack the browser. What are the real chances that would be an effective attack? It's probably slim. Right? Because usually people are using their computer or their mobile device. So -- but it's still a cool hack.

SEGALL: Let's talk about the NSA. We have General --

MITNICK: NSA. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

My favorite group.

SEGALL: Yes. When it comes to the NSA and General Alexander coming and showing up to this group of hackers, and you know, kind of calling on these folks for help, the reaction was a little mixed.

What are your thoughts on the NSA and are they being forthright about how much of our data they are collecting?

MITNICK: Probably not. Probably their words are very carefully chosen. I think they are collecting a lot more than metadata. Maybe with a particular program called PRISM it's only metadata. But I believe they have several other secret programs that they are collecting some sort of content.

SEGALL: And you know, I know we've got to wrap it up, but when it comes down to it, what --as a hacker who has the ability to go in and break into things, right? What are we most at risk? What do we need to do to protect ourselves?

MITNICK: Well, you know, what you could do, I mean, if you're not targeted by sophisticated hacker you can just do the normal stuff of having anti-virus software and software that tries to detect this malicious code, but if you're a real target of a sophisticated guy all these types of anti-virus software and software that's supposed to find malicious programs, that's all ineffective.

It really -- the industry hasn't created products really that are, you know, meaningful and effective in stopping a sophisticated hacker. They are only stopping the guys that go after what we call the low- hanging fruit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)