Tag Archive for: kevin

Pioneering hacker Kevin Mitnick, FBI-wanted felon turned security guru, dead at 59

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Kevin Mitnick, whose pioneering antics tricking employees in the 1980s and 1990s into helping him steal software and services from big phone and tech companies made him the most celebrated U.S. hacker, has died at age 59.

Mitnick died Sunday in Las Vegas after a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer, said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of the security training firm KnowBe4, where Mitnick was chief hacking officer.

His colorful career — from student tinkerer to FBI-hunted fugitive, imprisoned felon and finally respected cybersecurity professional, public speaker and author tapped for advice by U.S. lawmakers and global corporations — mirrors the evolution of society’s grasp of the nuances of computer hacking.

Through Mitnick’s professional trajectory, and what many consider the misplaced prosecutorial zeal that put him behind bars for nearly five years until 2000, the public has learned how to better distinguish serious computer crime from the mischievous troublemaking of youths hellbent on proving their hacking prowess.

“He never hacked for money,” said Sjouwerman, who became Mitnick’s business partner in 2011. He was mostly after trophies, chiefly cellphone code, he said.

Much fanfare accompanied Mitnick’s high-profile arrest in 1995, three years after he’d skipped probation on a previous computer break-in charge. The government accused him of causing millions of dollars in damages to companies including Motorola, Novell, Nokia and Sun Microsystems by stealing software and altering computer code.

But federal prosecutors had difficulty gathering evidence of major crimes, and after being jailed for nearly four years, Mitnick reached a plea agreement in 1999 that credited him for time served.

Upon his January 2000 release from prison, Mitnick told reporters his “were simple crimes of trespass.” He said ”I wanted to know as much as I could find out about how phone networks worked.”

He was initially barred for three years from using computers, modems, cell phones or anything else that could give him internet access — and from public speaking. Those requirements were…

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Pioneering hacker Kevin Mitnick, felon turned security guru, dead at 59 | National

/in


Kevin Mitnick, whose pioneering antics tricking employees in the 1980s and 1990s into helping him steal software and services from big phone and tech companies made him the most celebrated U.S. hacker, has died at age 59.

Mitnick died Sunday in Las Vegas after a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer, said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of the security training firm KnowBe4, where Mitnick was chief hacking officer.

His colorful career — from student tinkerer to FBI-hunted fugitive, imprisoned felon and finally respected cybersecurity professional, public speaker and author tapped for advice by U.S. lawmakers and global corporations — mirrors the evolution of society’s grasp of the nuances of computer hacking.

Through Mitnick’s professional trajectory, and what many consider the misplaced prosecutorial zeal that put him behind bars for nearly five years until 2000, the public has learned how to better distinguish serious computer crime from the mischievous troublemaking of youths hellbent on proving their hacking prowess.

“He never hacked for money,” said Sjouwerman, who became Mitnick’s business partner in 2011. He was mostly after trophies, chiefly cellphone code, he said.

Much fanfare accompanied Mitnick’s high-profile arrest in 1995, three years after he’d skipped probation on a previous computer break-in charge. The government accused him of causing millions of dollars in damages to companies including Motorola, Novell, Nokia and Sun Microsystems by stealing software and altering computer code.

But federal prosecutors had difficulty gathering evidence of major crimes, and after being jailed for nearly four years, Mitnick reached a plea agreement in 1999 that credited him for time served.

Upon his January 2000 release from prison, Mitnick told reporters his “were simple crimes of trespass.” He said ”I wanted to know as much as I could find out about how phone networks worked.”

He was initially barred for three years from using computers, modems, cell phones or anything else that could give him internet access — and from public speaking. Those requirements were gradually eased but he wasn’t allowed back online until December 2002.

Mitnick’s forte…

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Kevin Mitnick, Hacker Who Eluded Authorities, Is Dead at 59

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Kevin Mitnick, a reformed hacker who was once one of the most wanted computer criminals in the United States, died on Sunday, according to a statement shared Wednesday by a cybersecurity training company he co-founded and a funeral home in Las Vegas. He was 59.

His death was confirmed by Kathy Wattman, a spokeswoman for KnowBe4.

The cause was complications from pancreatic cancer. He had been undergoing treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center following his diagnosis more than a year ago, according to the King David Memorial Chapel & Cemetery in Las Vegas.

After serving prison time for breaking into and tampering with corporate computer networks, he was released in 2000 and began a new career as a security consultant, writer and public speaker.

Mr. Mitnick was best known for the crime spree during the 1990s that involved the theft of thousands of data files and credit card numbers from computers across the country. He used his skills to work his way into the nation’s phone and cell networks, vandalizing government, corporate and university computer systems.

Investigators at the time named him the “most wanted” computer hacker in the world.

In 1995, after a more than two-year-long manhunt, Mr. Mitnick was captured by the F.B.I. and charged with the illegal use of a telephone access device and computer fraud. “He allegedly had access to corporate trade secrets worth millions of dollars. He was a very big threat,” Kent Walker, a former assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco, said at the time.

In 1998, while Mr. Mitnick awaited sentencing, a group of supporters commandeered The New York Times website for several hours, forcing it to shut down.

The next year, Mr. Mitnick pleaded guilty to computer and wire fraud as part of an agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. He was also prohibited from using a computer or cellphone without the permission of his probation officer for the three years following his release.

Mr. Mitnick grew up in Los Angeles as an only child of divorced parents. He moved frequently and was something of a loner, studying magic tricks, according to his 2011 memoir, “Ghost in the Wires.”

By the age of 12, Mr. Mitnick…

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Security Expert Kevin L. Jackson Launches Security Innovation Based On The BlockChain Fit For The Cyber Warfare Age

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Press release content from Prodigy News. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.

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04/08/2022, Concentric Media Inc. // PRODIGY: Feature Story //

Security expert Kevin L.Jackson has lent his expertise to the launch of a new service based on innovative blockchain technology. In partnership with Total Network Services Inc., this innovation can help secure supply chains and ensure individual users can identify and remediate compromised devices in their network.

The Universal Communication Identifier (UCID) is the world’s first blockchain-enabled service for supply chain security, device management, software licensing, and equipment tracking.

One of UCID’s key features is the tokenization of all connected devices onto a blockchain, which will improve visibility on when and where a hack has occurred, across all connected devices. Users will also have a record of information transactions associated with that device.

This is crucial in an age where our devices are increasingly interconnected – especially through the Internet of Things (IoT) – and are susceptible to hacking.

‘Increasingly, the rise of connected devices, and IoT devices, means that we will be providing cyberwar hackers with more opportunities for to steal data and compromise the global information and telecommunications infrastructure ,’ says Jackson.

On an individual level, this could mean hacking into baby monitors, CCTV, or smart cars for ransom money.

Meanwhile, corporations are increasingly susceptible to software supply chain attacks on key aspects of their businesses. From compromising payment platforms to attacking devices further down in the chain by third-party devices, in today’s internet age, The SolarWinds hack in 2020, which disrupted more than 30,000 public and private organizations, is just an example of how vulnerable corporate supply chains are today.

UCID helps address these issues. Service capabilities include automated hardware and software bill-of-material documentation, counterfeit device detection, and software remediation monitoring give users more…

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