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DP16 The Controversial Hacker Legend: Kevin Mitnick
Kevin David Mitnick. Some call him The Condor or The Darkside Hacker. For me, he’s a hacker who got “famous.” Today, Mitnick is the head of a security consulting firm - Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC - and is the Chief Hacking Officer of KnowBe4. KnowBe4 is a security awareness training company. He’s also on the advisory board of Zimperium which is a firm that is developing mobile intrusion prevention systems.
He is atoning for his pas actions, which to say the least were nothing but nefarious. Before delving into computers, Mitnick was growing a passion for social engineering. Ultimately this was what he decided to study but used social engineering in a number of occasions.
The most notable time was when he was 16 and gained unauthorized access to a computer network in 1979. The company he infiltrated was Digital Equipment Corp. After that, Mitnick was on the run for several years until he was caught and convicted for the crime in 1988. At the time he was sentenced to a year in prison and had three years of supervised release. However near the end of that three year period Mitnick hacked into Pacific Bell’s voice mail computers. After a warrant was issued, Mitnick fled and was a fugitive for two and a half years.
Mitnick was captured again by 1995 which started a string of events where Mitnick was treated poorly. The whole process sparked a campaign from people called FreeKevin. Supporters were also given bumper stickers to raise awareness of it.
A documentary also emerged talking about Mitnick and his story. It’s called Freedom Downtime. Mitnick also published a book in 2003 called The Art of Deception which explained in detail his intentions and his experiences.
What we can learn from Mitnick is that not all hacking is bad and not all hackers are bad people. After Mitnick has been released, he has worked with companies to improve security and he’s published three other books since 2003. Those books and the controversy revolving around his life in prison are what makes him famous. And considering his skills, it’s nice to have a hacker on our side and to help protect us against the various cybersecurity threats.
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By dpappKevin David Mitnick. Some call him The Condor or The Darkside Hacker. For me, he’s a hacker who got “famous.” Today, Mitnick is the head of a security consulting firm - Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC - and is the Chief Hacking Officer of KnowBe4. KnowBe4 is a security awareness training company. He’s also on the advisory board of Zimperium which is a firm that is developing mobile intrusion prevention systems.
He is atoning for his pas actions, which to say the least were nothing but nefarious. Before delving into computers, Mitnick was growing a passion for social engineering. Ultimately this was what he decided to study but used social engineering in a number of occasions.
The most notable time was when he was 16 and gained unauthorized access to a computer network in 1979. The company he infiltrated was Digital Equipment Corp. After that, Mitnick was on the run for several years until he was caught and convicted for the crime in 1988. At the time he was sentenced to a year in prison and had three years of supervised release. However near the end of that three year period Mitnick hacked into Pacific Bell’s voice mail computers. After a warrant was issued, Mitnick fled and was a fugitive for two and a half years.
Mitnick was captured again by 1995 which started a string of events where Mitnick was treated poorly. The whole process sparked a campaign from people called FreeKevin. Supporters were also given bumper stickers to raise awareness of it.
A documentary also emerged talking about Mitnick and his story. It’s called Freedom Downtime. Mitnick also published a book in 2003 called The Art of Deception which explained in detail his intentions and his experiences.
What we can learn from Mitnick is that not all hacking is bad and not all hackers are bad people. After Mitnick has been released, he has worked with companies to improve security and he’s published three other books since 2003. Those books and the controversy revolving around his life in prison are what makes him famous. And considering his skills, it’s nice to have a hacker on our side and to help protect us against the various cybersecurity threats.