By Chelsea Irwin
Dan Kaplan can easily be described as Carrie Bradshaw’s male counterpart. A senior reporter living in New York, Dan is sharp, sarcastic and an excellent journalist. Not to mention his passion for his work, music, films, and the excitement of New York City. Put simply, the suburbs quickly depress him, much like the Sex and the City star.
After majoring in Newspaper from Syracuse University, Dan wrote for the Asbury Park Press covering the municipal beat and all things Jersey. (Quick side note: after our interview I felt compelled to confirm that “Newspaper” was a legitimate major - like “Interior Design” or “Backpack Recreation” – but as it turns out, it is, in fact, a very prestigious degree and apparently I’m the last one to the party because everyone else seemed to be aware of this).
As a Public Relations professional, I first met Dan at the RSA conference in 2007. I quickly learned that you can’t pitch Dan – he can see through the transparency of product upgrade announcements and companies that claim to have no competitors.
Currently, Dan is reporting on cyber security, Dan admits that some people might find what he does boring; it’s a hit or miss deal closer when it comes to the ladies, but he loves what he does and that’s all that matters right now. He did confess that even his dad finds his work slightly mind-numbing; however, when Dan uncovers a secret vulnerability with ATM machines that will allow someone to withdraw money free of charge, his dad wants to be the first to know. (I want to be the second to know - never mind the video cameras or other non-consequential security details).
It was my first time interviewing a reporter, which is tricky. There really is an art to running a smooth and quick interview. What I said would only be a 5 to 10 minute call, ended up running much longer (I know, every reporters dream). I couldn’t help but ask him what effect attending security conferences (Def Con, Black Hat), or speaking with professional Hackers about vulnerabilities and network holes has on him… is he ever tempted to compromise his morals and leverage the inside education to maybe just try his hand at hacking? I got a laugh from him; but apparently, he’s not slick enough for that. I agreed and we both decided we would likely be the pathetic cyber criminals that forgot to block the IP address.
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