TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Peephole video of ESPN's Andrews may unleash virus

The Associated Press

ESPN reporter Erin Andrews arrives at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles last week.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 20, 2009

Updated: 07/20/2009 01:22 pm

TAMPA - Beware all you luckless, lonely men craving to see attractive media stars in the buff online. If you click to see that voyeuristic image of Tampa's Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter who was covertly videotaped as she undressed in a hotel room, you just might catch a virus.

Andrews, 31, has attracted a large following of obsessive fans. She was secretly videotaped through the peephole recently, and the video was posted on YouTube. The original video has since been taken down.

However, hackers set up Web sites claiming to show the video that instead delivered a virus to computers, according to Sophos, a computer and online security company.

"It's no surprise that when news broke that a voyeur had secretly filmed (Andrews) through the peephole of her hotel room door that the Internet would be abuzz with sad sleazy men searching for the footage," said a posting on the Sophos Web site.

"Of course, hackers are no slacks when it comes to taking advantage of a hot Internet search trend, and although the real video has now been removed from YouTube, they have been quick to set up bogus Web pages claiming to contain the video footage of Ms. Andrews in her hotel room," the Web site said.

A statement from Andrews' attorneys on Friday made it clear that criminal charges along with civil lawsuits will be filed against the sneaky videographer. Andrews' attorney, Marshall B. Grossman, a partner of Bingham McCutchen, issued this statement on Friday:

"While alone in the privacy of her hotel room, Erin Andrews was surreptitiously videotaped without her knowledge or consent. She was the victim of a crime and is taking action to protect herself and help ensure that others are not similarly violated in the future.

"Although the perpetrator or perpetrators of this criminal act have not yet been identified, when they are identified she intends to bring both civil and criminal charges against them and against anyone who has published the material.

"We request respect of Erin's privacy at this time, while she and her representatives are working with the authorities."

Grossman declined to comment further on the matter.

"For now, we are not talking with any media beyond the statement issued," he said in an e-mail to The Tampa Tribune this afternoon. "I trust you will understand."

Andrews' father, Steve, is an investigative reporter with News Channel 8. She grew up in the Bay area and attended Bloomingdale High School before graduating from the University of Florida in 2000 with a degree in telecommunications. She joined ESPN in 2004 and has reported from sidelines for college and professional sports.

In 2007 and 2008, she was voted America's Sexiest Sportscaster by Playboy magazine.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

Share this:

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT