6 November 1997, Digital Cellular Report: U.S. government takes hard line on Mitnick. US Hacker Pleads for Help A US 'hacker'- Kevin David Mitnick - has issued a plea for financial help to fight his defence case through his lawyer, Donald C Randolph of Santa Monica, USA. Through Randolph, Mitnick is claiming that the US government is seeking to make an example of him for the possession of unauthorised cellular access codes. The issue is particularly important in the North American market where analogue, rather than digital cellular, is the norm. In one of the most amazing claims, Mitnick claims to have been kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, naked in a freezing air-conditioned cell for eight months and led to the showers in chains. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect to the whole case is the fact that while the US government has never sought to prove that Mitnick profited from his 'hacking' activities - although he could certainly have done so by 'selling' stolen airtime to third parties. Instead they claim he caused losses in excess of $80 million. Kevin certainly appears to be paying the price for his nefarious deeds having already spent nearly two years in custody during which time he has been prohibited from any access to wireless communications equipment, computer hardware or computer software. It's difficult to know exactly which side is the more paranoid since Mitnick is claiming that his fate is part of a deliberate US government plot to divert scrutiny away from its plans concerning the control and regulation of both telecommunications and the Internet. The case would seem to present a most powerful argument for the US to switch more swiftly over to digital cellular where 'hacking' is far more difficult.