Reporters from an online French magazine were booted from the world's premier computer security conference Thursday after reportedly hacking a press room network and stealing peers' passwords.

An accused trio from Global Security Magazine said they intended to teach reporters about how easily Internet transmissions could be intercepted while covering the Olympics in China, according to Black Hat conference organizers.

"It's not good manners to go in and try to crack into the press network here because it is so valuable to having the conference covered well," said Electronic Frontier Foundation senior attorney Kurt Opsahl.

"The press room is designed to be a safe harbor in a fairly stormy sea."

The magazine reporters plugged into a wired network in a Black Hat press room and evidently "sniffed" out log-in information used by peers.

The reporters, identified by Black Hat as Mauro Israel, Marc Brami and Dominique Jouniot, took their finds to computer specialists operating a "Wall of Sheep" at the conference.

The Wall of Sheep has become legendary at an annual DefCon hackers gathering and made its premier debut at Black Hat this year.

Wall operators scour wireless computer transmissions, capturing unsecure password and account information.

The data is edited to prevent it being used but left recognizable enough to embarrass people for leaving themselves vulnerable online.

Those tending to the Wall at Black Hat said their objective is to humiliate people into better protecting themselves.

The Wall refused to post the passwords purportedly pilfered by the magazine reporters. The accused reporters were escorted out and their access badges confiscated. They could not be reached for comment.

Opsahl said that while signs warn Black Hat goers that wireless Internet transmissions are being "sniffed," snooping a press room's wired network could violate US laws.

Global Security Magazine has been a longtime sponsor of Black Hat, which said it doesn't intend to take legal action in the case.