The name Kevin Mitnick most often comes up while discussing prominent hackers. He was labeled the “most wanted cyber criminal in US history” by the US Department of Justice. The life of Kevin Mitnick is so outlandish that the feature film Track Down was inspired by it. He is widely considered the best hacker in history.
What exactly did he do?
He was released on supervised release after serving a year in prison for hacking into the network of Digital Equipment Corporation. However, he fled near the end of that period and went on a two-and-a-half-year hacking spree that included breaching the national defense warning system and stealing corporate secrets.
Kevin Mitnick, a seminal figure in American hacking, began his career as a teen. He was charged with stealing computer manuals from Pacific Bell in 1981. He hacked the North American Defense Command (NORAD) in 1982, which inspired the 1983 film War Games. In 1989, he hacked into the network of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and copied their software. This act put Mitnick on the map because DEC was a leading computer manufacturer at the time. He was later arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. He hacked Pacific Bell’s voicemail systems while on conditional release.
Mitnick never used the access and data he obtained during his hacking career. It is widely assumed that he once gained complete control of Pacific Bell’s network simply to demonstrate that it could be done. A warrant was issued for Mitnick’s arrest in connection with the Pacific Bell incident, but he fled and went into hiding for more than two years. When he was apprehended, he was sentenced to prison on multiple counts of wire fraud and computer fraud.
Although Mitnick eventually wore a white hat, he may fall into the grey area of wearing both hats. According to Wired, he started “Mitnick’s Absolute Zero Day Exploit Exchange” in 2014, which sells unpatched, critical software exploits to the highest bidder.
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Brooklyn Simmons
Where Is He Now
Mitnick was eventually caught and convicted with a five-year prison sentence. After fully serving those years, he became a consultant and public speaker for computer security. He now runs Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC.
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