kevin mitnick

A splendidly tangled tale of intrigue, darkside hacking and skewed human relationships - the Kevin Mitnick/Tsutomu Shimomura affair is an incredible story that is still unwinding. The story riveted Americans when it broke early in 1995, and continues to play out today.

Mitnick was released on January 21, 2000 (having spent 5 years in jail) and Shimomura and John Markoff have reportedly profited handsomely from respectively apprehending him and telling the tale in a book and screenplay. Is Kevin Mitnick a dangerous criminal apprehended by an ingenious high-tech detective? Or a sad, if annoying, loner who was set up by shrewd manipulators cashing in on Internet hype?

Acts by Kevin Mitnick

* Using the Los Angeles bus transfer system to get free rides
* Evading the FBI
* Hacking into DEC system(s) to view VMS source code (DEC reportedly spent $160,000 in cleanup costs)
* Gaining full admin privileges to an IBM minicomputer at the Computer Learning Center in LA in order to win a bet
* Hacking Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu Siemens systems
* Wiretapped FBI agents according to John Markoff, although denied by Kevin Mitnick.

Alleged

* Stole computer manuals from a Pacific Bell telephone switching center in Los Angeles
* Read the e-mail of computer security officials at MCI Communications and Digital
* Wiretapped the California DMV
* Made free cell phone calls
* Hacked SCO, PacBell, FBI, Pentagon, Novell, CA DMV, USC and Los Angeles Unified School District systems.







Woz, a legendary hacker who built blue boxes –- telephone hacking devices –- with Steve Jobs before the pair launched Apple, presented Mitnick with a brand-new Titanium PowerBook as a parole graduation present.

Woz actually bought Mitnick two PowerBooks. The first one he lent to a friend in the hospital, but he hadn't yet gotten it back.


cool huh?