Dan Patterson, CNET and CBS News Senior Producer, and Graham Kates, CBS Investigative Reporter, volunteered to have their information hacked for research purposes. For three weeks, Stephanie “Snow” Carruthers, who is a Global Social Engineering Expert on IBM’s X-Force Red team, hacked Patterson and Kates. Earlier this year, all three of them sat down in a CBS News studio to discuss the information Carruthers gathered about the two CBS reporters, which included passwords and personal details.

Carruthers explained that social engineering is about convincing people to give out more personal information than they usually would. Her hacking into Patterson’s and Kates’ personal information shows how easily people with nefarious intentions can get your information and cause you harm. This edited transcript of their interview also includes tips on how to keep your information safe from cybercriminals.

Download this PDF to read the interview.