Kevin Mitnick

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Kevin Mitnick

Kevin David Mitnick (born August 6, 1963) is a well-known computer hacker. He was arrested by the FBI on February 15, 1995. Mitnick was convicted of wire fraud and of breaking into the computer systems of Fujitsu, Motorola, Nokia, and Sun Microsystems. He served five years in prison (four years of it pre-trial), 8 months of that in solitary confinement, and was released on January 21 2000. During his supervised release, which ended on January 21, 2003, he was restricted from using any communications technology other than a landline telephone, although occasional exceptions were granted.

Social engineering

Although often portrayed as a technical expert, most of Mitnick's attacks were based on social engineering, the practice of obtaining confidential information by manipulation of legitimate users, rather than technical exploits he discovered.

Mitnick discovered a large number of vulnerabilities in the OpenVMS operating system by getting access to the Voicemail system of security researchers at DEC.

Controversy

Kevin Mitnick's criminal activities, arrest, and trial were controversial, and have caused some computer industry journalists to raise legal and ethical questions concerning the events surrounding him.

Mitnick continues to claim that his treatment was unfair and has alleged that at one time he was held in solitary confinement for 8 months because his girlfriend "Suzy Thunder" told authorities Mitnick could cause a nuclear attack by whistling into a phone.

The core of the controversy came from two books that presented views that were at odds with one another: John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura's Takedown, and Jonathan Littman's The Fugitive Game. In particular, Littman made allegations of journalistic impropriety against Markoff, of overzealous prosecution of Mitnick by the government, of mainstream media over-hyping of Mitnick's actual crimes, and of the legality of Shimomura's involvement in the matter. Further controversy came over the release of the movie Takedown, with Littman alleging that portions of the film were taken from his book without permission.

The case against Mitnick tested then-nascent laws that had been enacted for dealing with computer crime, and it raised public awareness of security issues involving networked computers. The controversy remains, however, as Mitnick is often used today as an example of the quintessential computer criminal although his exploits are less notable than his notoriety suggests.

Furthermore, supporters of Mitnick assert that many of the charges against him were fraudulent[1] and not based on actual losses[2].

While Mitnick's actual actions may not have justified the level of official concern they did, the fact that his activities were criminal is not disputed. Mitnick's first adult criminal sentence was considerably shorter than is the norm today. His second adult criminal sentence was typical for a second offense committed while on probation.

Additionally, a dramatized version of the events leading up to Kevin's arrest was made.

Recent activity

  • Has written a book about social engineering called The Art of Deception (2002). Has written a further book called The Art of Intrusion (2005), focusing on real stories of security exploits.
  • Mitnick usually makes semiannual appearances on the popular late night radio show Coast to Coast AM. Mitnick has also hosted the show with interviews including Steve Wozniak (on April 30 2006).
  • Mitnick guest starred in a first season episode of Alias. The casting was an in-joke, since Mitnick played a CIA hacker. Due to the conditions of his parole, however, the computer he used in the scene was a prop.
  • Kevin Mitnick has been invited to be a speaker at many events. He was the keynote speaker at the IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) Privacy Academy in Las Vegas, NV, October, 2005, Kevin Mitnick was also a speaker at the National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology in San Jose, CA, in the summer of 2004 as well as a keynote speaker at The Fifth H.O.P.E. in New York, NY, July, 2004.
  • He offers security consulting services through his company Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC and has co-authored two books on computer security.
  • Mitnick is referenced by a fictional radio caller in the video game Grand Theft Auto III. The crazy caller rants and raves about the National Security Agency's ECHELON system and government conspiracies. At the end, just before he is cut off by the host, he screams "FREE KEVIN!" which is a reference to Kevin Mitnick.
  • Mitnick landed a cameo role in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a caller on the WCTR show, "Area 53". In his call, he talks about how the United States' supply of nuclear missiles are under his control, and not the government's. He then goes on to reference the false accusation of him being able to launch nukes by whistling into a phone, which led to him being held in solitary confinement for 8 months. The host asks him to destroy all the other radio stations in town, to which Mitnick replies "I don't do that any more, I only use my powers for good."
  • Kevin Mitnick was a "surprise guest" in the 40th TWiT podcast when, while in Las Vegas for a conference, he ran into Steve Wozniak at a table outside a Starbucks coffee store. Wozniak was on the line with fellow TWiT hosts via Skype on his notebook computer, and Mitnick remained with Wozniak for much of the remainder of the show.
  • Kevin Mitnick appeared on "Thebroken", an online videozine marketing itself as 'borderline legal' hosted by Dan Huard and Kevin Rose and produced by their company, Revision3 Corporation. He appeared on the 3rd episode of the show, but was given mention in the first.
  • Kevin Mitnick has recently appeared on the South African actuality programme "Carte Blanche".
  • The video game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines features a Nosferatu hacker named Mitnick.

References

  1. ^ http://www.freekevin.com/about.html section II
  2. ^ http://www.freekevin.com/060799defmot.html section II - Statement of Facts
  • Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It, by Tsutomu Shimomura (ISBN 0786889136)
  • The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick, by Jonathan Littman (ISBN 0316528587)
  • Cyber Punk - Outlaws and Hackers On The Computer Frontier, by Katie Hafner & John Markoff (ISBN 0552139637)
  • The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security, by Kevin Mitnick (2002)
    • (Hardback ISBN 0471237124)
    • (Paperback ISBN 076454280X)
  • The Art Of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind The Exploits Of Hackers, Intruders, And Deceivers, by Kevin Mitnick (2005)
    • (Hardback ISBN 0764569597)
    • (Paperback ISBN 0471782661)

See also

External links

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