That's fair, I think it's also fair to point out that the people with the technical know-how about these things aren't often talked to by the press. I mean how many stories do you see about hardware tampering like this? They might not be very well versed in how to communicate with them. Also I know that I have a tendency to enjoy talking through possibilities and scenarios and so could see myself (I'm not a hardware or security expert at all but the points stands) discussing at length how such a thing COULD work and just being excited to talk about a field I am well versed in. A reporter could then take that as my signing off on that it DID happen.
It’s definitely a skill. I’ve caught myself saying something juicy that was off on a tangent or a bit misleading. Usually I’ll realize it and ask the reporter not to use it and they’ll honor that.
But, yes, even reporters that you know want to write a story that will be interesting to readers. As a source, feel free to provide educational background but be really careful about speculating about things if you don’t want that speculation in print.
An on the record conversation isn’t the same as an informal background chat with the same person over drinks. And I’m a bit careful even then.
