Tag Archive for: died

Kevin Mitnick, Once The World’s Most Wanted Hacker, Died Peacefully At 59

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famed hacker kevin mitnick passes away at age 59

Kevin Mitnick, who was once the most wanted computer hacker in the world turned security consultant, has died at the age of 59. Per his obituary, he passed away peacefully after a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

In the mid to late 1990s, Kevin Mitnick went on what was called a “countrywide hacking spree” by then-U.S. Attorney Christopher Painter, breaking into government systems, potentially even NORAD, as well as private sector organizations like Sun Microsystems or Motorola. After being placed on the FBI’s most wanted list, this spree earned him 25 cybercrime charges and jail time, leading to the “FREE KEVIN” movement, further spurring his cyberspace fame or infamy, depending on how you look at it.

free kevin famed hacker kevin mitnick passes away at age 59

With all these hi-jinks, Mitnick inspired movies such as War Games, which helped to propel cybersecurity to where it is today. He has also written several books about his various phreaking, social engineering, and hacking escapades, such as the New York Times bestselling The Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker. However, after his life of crime concluded with his final prison term, which he deemed a ‘vacation,’ he turned to white hat hacking, security consulting, public speaking, and more.

stage famed hacker kevin mitnick passes away at age 59

For example, in 2011, he became the Chief Hacking Officer and part owner of KnowBe4, a security awareness training company founded by Stu Sjouwerman. More recently, he appeared across our desk after he and the team at KnowBe4 built out a password-cracking rig filled with dozens of NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPUs. That, sadly, would be one of the last times we heard from Mitnick, though. He leaves behind a wife, Kimberly Mitnick, and their first unborn child.

From us at HotHardware, our deepest condolences go out to the Mitnick family, and we raise a glass to Kevin, who helped make the security field what it is today.

(Images courtesy of Mitnick Security)

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Texas mall security guard Christian LaCour died after saving shopper

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WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

The mall security guard who was shot and killed during the Texas massacre died after helping lead a shopper to safety and going back to try and save others — as authorities are still probing a motive in the rampage.

Christian LaCour, 20, a security guard who worked at the Allen Premium Outlets, was busy working a shift on Saturday afternoon when Mauricio Garcia, 33, opened fire on shoppers with an AR-15-style rifle.

Allen Chief of Police Brian Harvey said that in the chaos, LaCour rushed to save a person, leading them away from the gunman, who then set his sights on the security guard and killed him.

“We must acknowledge the bravery of allied security guard Christian LaCour, who evacuated one individual to safety and was shot while courageously remaining to help others,” Harvey said during a news conference Tuesday.

LaCour, of Farmersville, was the first victim publicly identified by family, who described him as a “beautiful soul” and a “very sweet gentleman.”

“Words can not even begin to describe the devastation that our family feels,” Kellie Smith, the mother of LaCour’s sister-in-law wrote.

“There will forever be a void.”


Security guard Christian LaCour, 20, was shot and killed during Saturday's massacre.
Security guard Christian LaCour, 20, was shot and killed during Saturday’s massacre.
Kellie Smith/Facebook

Gunman Mauricio Garcia (right) was shot and killed by an officer shortly after he opened fire on shoppers.
Gunman Mauricio Garcia (right) was shot and killed by an officer shortly after he opened fire on shoppers.

Meanwhile, the family of another victim, Aishwarya Thatikonda, said the died chasing the American dream.

Thatikonda, 26, an engineer at Perfect General Contractors, in Frisco, was an immigrant from India who came to study in the US in pursuit of a better life for her and her family, a rep for the family told CNN.

She came to the US about five years ago and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2020 with a Masters in construction management.


Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26, was shopping at the mall when she was shot and killed.
Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26, was shopping at the mall when she was shot and killed.
AP

Her boss, Srinivas Chaluvadi, said she was like a daughter to him and was well-known in Frisco and neighboring communities. He touted the slain engineer as someone he was mentoring to take over his…

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How is Data in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ if he died in ‘Star Trek: Nemesis?’

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Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched “Star Trek: Picard” episode 6, The Bounty.  

Even though Spock died saving the Enterprise in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” Star Trek used the restorative powers of the Genesis planet to bring him back. So when Data made a noble sacrifice of his own in “Star Trek: Nemesis,” it wasn’t really a surprise when the door was left open – albeit slightly – for the android’s future return.

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Hackers planted false files implicating Indian Jesuit Father Swamy who died in prison

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NEW DELHI (CNS)—Catholic activists and priests want the Indian government to “take full responsibility” for the custodial death of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy after findings by U.S.-based digital forensic experts that false evidence was planted on the priest’s computer.

In a recent report, Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, said the “digital evidence used to arrest senior human rights defender Father Swamy in the Bhima-Koregaon case was planted on his computer’s hard drive.”

The 84-year-old Jesuit, a rights activist based in eastern Jharkhand state, died in a hospital while imprisoned in Mumbai in July 2021 after being denied bail on medical grounds, despite suffering from multiple age-related ailments.

He was arrested Oct. 8, 2020, by India’s anti-terror National Investigation Agency and accused of being party to a conspiracy allegedly hatched by outlawed Maoist rebels to unleash mob violence at Bhima-Koregaon, in the western state of Maharashtra, Jan. 1, 2018.

Ucanews.com reported Arsenal said “the attacker responsible for compromising Father Swamy’s computer had extensive resources (including time), and it is obvious that the primary goals were surveillance and incriminating document delivery.”

Disclosing details of the findings, Jesuit Father Joseph Xavier said in a statement that the hackers “first attacked Father Swamy’s computer on Oct. 19, 2014, using a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) called Netwire.”

“The report (by Arsenal) shows examples of the hackers being able to read his passwords as he was typing them, as well as other documents and emails,” said Father Xavier, who is also a convener of the Father Stan Swamy Legacy Committee of the Jesuits.

The hacker also read as many as 24,000 files on Father Stan’s device and planted files between July 2017 and June 2019, Father Xavier said, quoting from the report.

“Over 50 files were created on Father Swamy’s hard drive, including incriminating documents that fabricated links between Father Stan and the Maoist insurgency. The final incriminating document was planted on Father Stan’s computer on June 5, 2019, a week…

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