Hackers: Kevin Mitnick: Ghost in the Wire, Now Freed From Downtime - Dead at 53

From what I know, he was actually not allowed to use a computer up until 2004. He was supposed to be banned from using any computer or cellular phone for 3 years after his latest release from Jail, in

https://archive.org/details/FreedomDowntime-TheStoryOfKevinMitnick Kevin Mitnick Mitnick in 2010 Born Kevin David Mitnick August 6, 1963 Van Nuys, California, U.S. Died July 16, 2023 (aged 59) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1] Other names The Condor, The Darkside Hacker Occupations Information technology consultant Author Organizations Mitnick Security Consulting Chief Hacking Officer at KnowBe4, Inc Board member of KnowBe4 Criminal charge(s) 1995: Wire fraud (14 counts), possession of unauthorized access devices (8 counts), interception of wire or electronic communications, unauthorized access to a federal computer, and causing damage to a computer[2][3] Criminal penalty 1988: One year prison[4] 1999: 46 months prison plus 3 years probation Spouse Kimberley Mitnick ​ (m. 2022)​ Call sign N6NHG[5] Website www.mitnicksecurity.com Kevin David Mitnick (August 6, 1963 – July 16, 2023) was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. He is best known for his high-profile 1995 arrest and five years in prison for various computer and communications-related crimes.[6] Mitnick's pursuit, arrest, trial, and sentence along with the associated journalism, books, and films were all controversial.[7][8] After his release from prison, he ran his own security firm, Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC, and was also involved with other computer security businesses. Early life and education Mitnick was born on August 6, 1963,[9] in Van Nuys, California.[10] His father was Alan Mitnick, his mother was Shelly Jaffe, and his maternal grandmother was Reba Vartanian.[1][11] He grew up in Los Angeles, California.[9] At age 12, Mitnick convinced a bus driver to tell him where he could buy his own ticket punch for "a school project", and was then able to ride any bus in the greater Los Angeles area using unused transfer slips he found in a dumpster next to the bus company garage.[12] Mitnick attended James Monroe High School in North Hills,[13][14] during which time he became a licensed amateur radio operator with callsign WA6VPS[15] (his license was restored after imprisonment with callsign N6NHG[16]). He chose the nickname "Condor" after watching the movie Three Days of the Condor.[17] He was later enrolled at Los Angeles Pierce College and USC.[13] Career For a time, Mitnick worked as a receptionist for Stephen S. Wise Temple.[13] Computer hacking Mitnick gained unauthorized access to a computer network in 1979, at 16, when a friend gave him the telephone number for the Ark, the computer system that Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) used for developing its RSTS/E operating system software.[18] He broke into DEC's computer network and copied the company's software, a crime for which he was charged and convicted in 1988. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Near the end of his supervised release, Mitnick hacked into Pacific Bell voicemail computers. After a warrant was issued for his arrest, Mitnick fled, becoming a fugitive for two-and-a-half years.[19] According to the United States Department of Justice, Mitnick gained unauthorized access to dozens of computer networks while he was a fugitive. He used cloned cellular phones to hide his location and, among other things, copied valuable proprietary software from some of the country's largest cellular telephone and computer companies.[20][21] Mitnick also intercepted and stole computer passwords, altered computer networks, and broke into and read private emails.[21][22] Arrest, conviction, and incarceration Black sans serif text "FREE KEVIN" on a yellow backgroundSupporters from 2600 Magazine distributed "Free Kevin" bumper stickers.[23] After a well-publicized pursuit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Mitnick on February 15, 1995, at his apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina, on federal offenses related to a two-and-a-half-year period of computer hacking that included computer and wire fraud.[24][25] He was found with cloned cellular phones, more than 100 cloned cellular phone codes, and multiple pieces of false identification.[26] In December 1997, the Yahoo! Web site was hacked, displaying a message calling for Mitnick's release. According to the message, all recent visitors of Yahoo!'s site had been infected with a computer worm that would wreak havoc on Christmas Day unless Mitnick was released. Yahoo! dismissed the claims as a hoax and said that the worm was nonexistent.[27][28] Mitnick was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of possession of unauthorized access devices, interception of wire or electronic communications, unauthorized access to a federal computer, and causing damage to a computer.[29] He was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, but it was not used as evidence at his trial.[30] In 1999, Mitnick pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud, two counts of computer fraud, and one count of illegally intercepting a wire communication, as part of a plea bargain before the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison plus 22 months for violating the terms of his 1989 supervised release sentence for computer fraud. He admitted to violating the terms of supervised release by hacking into Pacific Bell voicemail and other systems and to associating with known computer hackers, in this case co-defendant Lewis De Payne.[2][31][32] Mitnick served five years in prison—four-and-a-half years' pre-trial and eight months in solitary confinement, because, according to Mitnick, law enforcement officials convinced a judge that he had the ability to "start a nuclear war by whistling into a pay phone",[33] implying that law enforcement told the judge that he could somehow dial into the NORAD modem via a payphone from prison and communicate with the modem by whistling to launch nuclear missiles.[34] In addition, a number of media outlets reported on the unavailability of kosher meals at the prison where he was incarcerated.[35] Mitnick was released on January 21, 2000. During his supervised release, which ended on January 21, 2003, he was initially forbidden to use any communications technology other than a landline telephone.[36] Under the plea deal, Mitnick was also prohibited from profiting from films or books based on his criminal activity for seven years, under a variation of the Son of Sam law.[37] In December 2001, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) judge ruled that Mitnick was sufficiently rehabilitated to possess a federally issued amateur radio license.[38] Controversy Mitnick's criminal activities, arrest, and trial, along with the associated journalism, were all controversial.[7] Though Mitnick was convicted of copying software unlawfully,[39] his supporters argue that his punishment was excessive and that many of the charges against him were fraudulent[40] and not based on actual losses.[41] John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura, who had both been part of the pursuit of Mitnick, wrote the book Takedown about Mitnick's capture.[42] The case against Mitnick tested the new laws that had been enacted for dealing with computer crime and it raised public awareness of security involving networked computers. The controversy remains, however, and the Mitnick story is often cited today as an example of the influence that newspapers and other media outlets can have on law enforcement personnel.[43] Consulting After his release in 2000, Mitnick became a paid security consultant, public speaker, and author. He carried out security consulting for, performed penetration testing services, and taught social engineering classes to companies and government agencies. He ran Mitnick Security Consulting LLC, a computer security consultancy and was part owner of KnowBe4, provider of an integrated platform for security awareness training and simulated phishing testing,[44][45] as well as an active advisory board member at Zimperium,[46] a firm that develops a mobile intrusion prevention system.[47] He resided in Las Vegas, Nevada.[48] Death Kevin Mitnick died from pancreatic cancer on July 16, 2023, at the age of 59 at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hospital.[1] At the time of his death, he was married and his wife was pregnant with his first child.[9][1][49][50] Media Adrian Lamo, Kevin Mitnick, and Kevin Poulsen (photo c. 2001) In 2000, Skeet Ulrich and Russell Wong portrayed Mitnick and Tsutomu Shimomura, respectively, in the movie Track Down (known as Takedown outside the US), which was based on the book Takedown by John Markoff and Shimomura. The DVD was released in September 2004.[51] Mitnick also appeared in Werner Herzog's documentary Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016).[52] Books Written by Mitnick Mitnick is the co-author, with William L. Simon and Robert Vamosi, of four books, three on computer security and his autobiography: (2002) The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security[53] (2005) The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers[54] (2011) Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker[13] (2017) The Art of Invisibility[55] Authorized by Mitnick (1996) The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick, Jonathan Littman[56] See also Kevin Poulsen List of computer criminals "My kung fu is stronger than yours" The Secret History of Hacking References Albeck-Ripka, Livia; Mayorquin, Orlando (July 20, 2023). "Kevin Mitnick, Hacker Who Once Eluded Authorities, Is Dead at 59". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023. Gengler, Barbara (1999). "Super-hacker Kevin Mitnick takes a plea". Computer Fraud & Security. 1999 (5): 6. doi:10.1016/S1361-3723(99)90141-0. "Kevin Mitnick's Federal Indictment". sourcedns.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014. "#089 Fugitive Computer Hacker Arrested in North Carolina". justice.gov. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. "HEARING DESIGNATION ORDER (FCC 01-359)" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. December 21, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015. "Kevin Mitnick sentenced to nearly four years in prison; computer hacker ordered to pay restitution to victim companies whose systems were compromised". justice.gov (Press release). United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California. August 9, 1999. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Kroll, Jason (January 21, 2000). "Free Kevin, Kevin Freed". Linux Journal. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. "Ex-hacker reveals tricks of the trade". AsiaOne Digital. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Cho, Kelly Kasulis (July 20, 2023). "Kevin Mitnick, hacker and fugitive turned security consultant, dies at 59". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Hackers League (May 31, 2019). "Kevin Mitnick". Medium. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. "Freedom Downtime - The Story of Kevin Mitnick (2001)". CosmoLearning. August 20, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2023. Greene, Thomas C. (January 13, 2003). "Chapter One: Kevin Mitnick's story". The Register. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Mitnick, Kevin; Simon, William L. (2011). Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-03770-9. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2019. "Hacker Arraigned in Computer Fraud Case". Los Angeles Times. October 1, 1996. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. "... as a student at James Monroe High School in North Hills, he broke into the Los Angeles Unified School District's computers." Mills, Elinor (June 22, 2009). "Q&A: Kevin Mitnick, from ham operator to fugitive to consultant". cnet.com. CNET. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017. "Mitnick Granted Ham License". Wired. Associated Press. December 27, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2023. Poole, Hilary W.; Lambert, Laura; Woodford, Chris; Moschovitis, Christos J. P. (2005). The Internet : a historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. ISBN 1-85109-664-7. OCLC 62211803. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2022. "The Missing Chapter from The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick". thememoryhole.org. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2020. Johnson, John; Ostrow, Ronald J.; Meyer, Josh (February 16, 1995). "Fugitive North Hills Hacker Arrested in N. Carolina : Crime: Kevin Mitnick eluded authorities for two years. He is alleged to have cost victims millions". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Tamaki, Julie (September 27, 1996). "Famed Hacker Is Indicted by U.S. Grand Jury". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2023. Rose, E. Brian (December 1, 2015). Millionaire Within: Untold Stories from the Internet Underworld. Morgan James Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-63047-346-4. Byrne, Michael (September 27, 2014). "Kevin Mitnick Offers a Peek Inside the Cryptic Zero-Day Marketplace". Vice. Retrieved July 22, 2023. "Freedom Downtime - The Story of Kevin Mitnick". archive.org. October 23, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2019. "Fugitive computer hacker arrested in North Carolina". usdoj.gov (Press release). United States Department of Justice. February 15, 1995. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. The Colbert Report[not specific enough to verify] Painter, Christopher M. E. (March 2001). "Supervised Release and Probation Restrictions in Hacker Cases" (PDF). United States Attorneys' USA Bulletin. Executive Office for United States Attorneys. 49 (2). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015. "Yahoo Hack: Heck of a Hoax". Wired. December 9, 1997. Original text posted to Yahoo's website at archive.org Hesseldahl, Arik (September 4, 1998). "Hacker Can't Get Access". Wired – via wired.com. Hess, Ken (September 12, 2011). "Ghost in the Wires: The Kevin Mitnick Interview". ZDNET. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022. "Computer Hacker Kevin Mitnick Sentenced to Prison". fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. June 27, 1997. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2020. "Kevin Mitnick sentenced to nearly four years in prison; computer hacker ordered to pay restitution to victim companies whose systems were compromised". usdoj.gov. United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California, U.S. Department of Justice. August 9, 1999. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Mills, Elinor (July 20, 2008). "Social Engineering 101: Mitnick and other hackers show how it's done". CNET. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. "Famed hacker to Snowden: Watch out". CNN. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2020. "Life Not Kosher for Mitnick". Wired. August 18, 1999. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Bowker, Art. "Hackers, Sex Offenders, and All the Rest". corrections.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018. "World's most famous hacker Kevin Mitnick to speak at ULM Business Symposium". ulm.edu. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023. "F.C.C. Lets Convicted Hacker Go Back on Net". The New York Times. December 27, 2002. Miller, Greg (March 27, 1999). "Judge Accepts Mitnick's Guilty Plea on 7 Counts". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2020. Randolph, Donald C. "About Kevin's Case". Free Kevin Mitnick. Archived from the original on April 24, 2006. "Defense consolidated motion for sanctions and for reconsideration of motion for discovery and application for expert fees based upon new facts". Free Kevin Mitnick. June 7, 1999. Archived from the original on December 22, 2005. Shimomura, Tsutomo; Markoff, John (1996). Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw - By the Man Who Did It. Hyperion. ISBN 978-0786862108. Christensen, John (March 18, 1999). "The trials of Kevin Mitnick". Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018. Noory, George (January 7, 2019). "Cybercrime & Security". Coast to Coast AM. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019. KnowBe4. "Kevin Mitnick Partners With KnowBe4". prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved April 18, 2020. Darlene Storm (July 19, 2012). "Interview: World's most famous hacker, Kevin Mitnick, on mobile security & Zimperium". Computerworld. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Alex Williams (December 20, 2013). "Zimperium Raises $8M For Mobile Security That Turns The Tables On Attackers". TechCrunch. AOL. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017. "Kevin Mitnick's Security Advice". Wired. November 15, 2006. "Kevin David Mitnick". Dignity Memorial. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. "Famed Hacker Kevin Mitnick Dead at 59". SecurityWeek News. July 20, 2023. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. "Takedown". tcm.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Security, Mitnick. "Lo and Behold". mitnicksecurity.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Mitnick, Kevin; Simon, William L. (October 2003). The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security. Wiley Books. ISBN 978-0-7645-4280-0. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2009. Mitnick, Kevin; Simon, William L. (December 27, 2005). The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers. Wiley Books. ISBN 978-0-7645-6959-3. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2009. Mitnick, Kevin; Vamosi, Robert (February 2017). The Art of Invisibility. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-3163-8049-2. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019. Cohn, Scott (July 26, 2016). "Greed Report: These White-Collar Manhunts Will Make Your Head Spin". CNBC. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Bibliography Movies Freedom Downtime at IMDb Books Kevin Mitnick with Robert Vamosi, The Art of Invisibility, 2017, Hardback ISBN 978-0-316-38049-2 Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon, Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker, 2011, Hardback ISBN 978-0-316-03770-9 Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon, The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind The Exploits Of Hackers, Intruders, And Deceivers, 2005, Hardback ISBN 0-471-78266-1 Kevin Mitnick, The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security, 2002, Paperback ISBN 0-471-23712-4 Jeff Goodell, The Cyberthief and the Samurai: The True Story of Kevin Mitnick-And the Man Who Hunted Him Down, 1996, ISBN 978-0-440-22205-7 Tsutomu Shimomura, Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It, 1996, ISBN 0-7868-8913-6 Jonathan Littman, The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick, 1996, ISBN 0-316-52858-7 Katie Hafner and John Markoff, CYBERPUNK – Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, 1995, ISBN 1-872180-94-9 Articles Littman, Jonathan (June 2007). "The Invisible Digital Man" (PDF). Playboy. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Fost, Dan (May 4, 2000). "Movie About Notorious Hacker Inspires a Tangle of Suits and Subplots". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2007. Darell, Khin. "From Being Hunted By The FBI To Working Alongside Them- Kevin Mitnick". Appknox. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016. Ehrlich, Thomas. "Renowned security expert Kevin Mitnick can steal your identity in 3 minutes". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kevin Mitnick. Official website Edit this at Wikidata Kevin Mitnick interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata International FAST ISNI VIAF 2 3 4 5 6 WorldCat National Norway Spain France BnF data Catalonia Germany Italy Israel United States Japan Czech Republic Australia Greece Korea Croatia Netherlands Poland Academics Association for Computing Machinery CiNii Scopus zbMATH Artists MusicBrainz People Trove Other IdRef v t e Hacking in the 1990s ← 1980s Timeline 2000s → Incidents 1990 Operation Sundevil 1995 Operation CyberSnare 1998 Moonlight Maze Groups CyberThrill globalHell Global kOS L0pht Level Seven Milw0rm MOD Individuals Acid Phreak The Analyzer Condor Corrupt Cucumber Eric Bloodaxe Dark Avenger Phiber Optik Steven Games YTCracker Malware CIH Happy99 Hare KAK Melissa Michelangelo Categories: 1963 births 2023 deaths 2600: The Hacker Quarterly American computer criminals People from Los Angeles Hackers Amateur radio people 20th-century American Jews Los Angeles Pierce College people Fugitives wanted by the United States 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American criminals People with Asperger syndrome American writers with disabilities American people convicted of fraud Criminals from California People from Van Nuys Deaths from pancreatic cancer This page was last edited on 11 September 2023, at 16:02 (UTC). He's gone, Jim. [[1]] Crazysane (T/C\D) 00:58, 20 July 2023 (UTC) dead apparently he died of cancer or something 🤷‍♂️ 2A00:23EE:1478:219E:3051:7545:2AE4:DCE2 (talk) 00:59, 20 July 2023 (UTC) The memorial page that is being shared: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/las-vegas-nv/kevin-mitnick-113716... Skyfaller (talk) 01:11, 20 July 2023 (UTC) The problem is no one's confirming it. Just a memorial page isn't much to go on. No one on Twitter, Reddit, or Hacker News is stepping up to say specifically "I know all about this and know independently of this memorial page that Kevin is dead". Entities like 2600 or Jason Scott are just retweeting the memorial. Is Kevin Mitnick dead? Probably yes. But given that he was famous in particular for social engineering, there's a bit of niggling doubt there about him or someone else up to shenanigans... --Gwern (contribs) 01:09 20 July 2023 (GMT) A member of the hacking community, MG, claims on Twitter to have independently confirmed this but as of now has provided no additional sources. Also Security Week has reported it, citing "SecurityWeek sources" in addition to the memorial page. Replysixty (talk) 01:27, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Can someone protect the page to stop the back-and-forth unsourced edit-warring? Nicolas09F9 (talk) 01:32, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Yet another source [2], not to mention the Obituary is definitely legit. --Neøn (talk) 01:42, 20 July 2023 (UTC) And now the Sun as well. I think this should be enough. Replysixty (talk) 01:46, 20 July 2023 (UTC) I guess there's no way to block the reverts that will predictably follow.. -- Neøn (talk) 01:49, 20 July 2023 (UTC) After a discussion with User:GeneralNotability (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:GeneralNotability#Kevin_Mitnick) I've restored what I believe was the best version to come out of this back-and-forth editing, featuring the obituary and the SecurityWeek article. At this point, the back-and-forth has mostly slowed, so hopefully we can leave it at this... demize (t · c) 02:11, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Confirmed by multiple sources, including New York Times. See: [3] Lexlex (talk) 20:29, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 20 July 2023 (2) This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. He died on the 16th of july not the 19th of july ComuterK1d (talk) 02:08, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. EggRoll97 (talk) 04:00, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 20 July 2023 (3) This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. Please change in "Death" July 21,2023 to July 20, 2023 Fischdix (talk) 14:13, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Please disregard changes, correct date is July 16, 2023. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/las-vegas-nv/kevin-mitnick-113716... Fischdix (talk) 14:16, 20 July 2023 (UTC) This page was last edited on 29 August 2023, at 01:10 (UTC). Contribution credits and vanities I put this in here, for the record, in case this article gets longer. Most Mitnick stories, including his own, tell of the penetration by Mitnick and his friends of what is called, reverentially, "The Ark" at Digital Equipment Corporation. Although rare at that time outside of DEC, inside there was a whole network of computers with addresses using up to six RAD-50 characters. ARK:: was the address of the RSTS development system. It was nothing special, just another PDP-11/70, and certainly not the sanctum sanctorum of Digital software that he makes it sound. Most operating system people in DEC at the time thought downloading old RSTS sources was a hilarious waste of time. I worked on a better OS on KERMIT:: and ALIEN::, that RSX guy, Ortolan88 05:37 Jan 28, 2003 (UTC) Removed: "Today, Kevin Mitnick is widely regarded as a pioneering cracker whose prosecution by the government was overblown to the point of injustice." See Wikipedia:Avoid weasel terms. -- Cyan 09:39, 19 Sep 2003 (UTC) 2600 documentary I added information about the 2600 documentary, freedom downtime, links to freekevin.com, freedomdowntime.com, and an image from his company website to the right of the page. --drago9034 12:30, Nov 9, 2003 In view of the quality of later edits, and the rather strange allegations made by 219.39.... I suggest removing all his edits, unless he/she comes up with some sources to confirm what he writes. Was it possible that the revert before mine was intended to revert all the anon edits but failed because of the change of IP address? DJ Clayworth 18:48, 21 May 2004 (UTC) "Hacker" n "Cracker" The first sentence calls him a "hacker", even though he fits the definition of "cracker" (including the definition given by Wikipedia). He doesn't fit the primary definition of "hacker", as given by the Wikipedia or that most any hacker would use. I don't see how "cracker" is a "weasel term". Wikipedia defines cracking as "the act of compromising the security of a system without permission from an authorized party" -- which is precisely what Mitnick did. That doesn't seem any more weasely than, say, calling Al Capone a "gangster". It's what he did. It's also confusing: it seems to imply that hacking is a criminal activity, yet the (primary) definition of "hacker" doesn't mention criminal activity. The "hacker" article lists him as a "notable hacker[] who ran afoul of a government", which is exceedingly generous. At the very least, I think we should add an adjective here to distinguish what he did from what most hackers do -- "security hacker", for example, though that still feels too generous. Why can't we just call him a "security cracker", like he is? Perhapse I'm wrong, but I don't think the "weasel term" comment refered to the term "cracker" so much as the context of the term, i.e. "is widely regarded as" They are both inappropriate and should be avoided. Cracker and Phreak are both jargon. Very few people know what the term means, everyone knows the term hacker in the sense used here. It is what the little runt called himself. Mitnick and his like have unfortunately captured this word now. The term hacker means computer criminal in the popular mind. The OED (2nd ed) contains both definitions, it does not contain cracker defined in this way and is pretty unlikely to. --Gorgonzilla 01:26, 30 June 2006 (UTC) "Hacker" should be removed from the opening description, as the original poster noted, it incorrectly implies that "hacking" is a crime. He should be described as having illegally accessed corporate computer equipment, or some similarly descriptive phrase. I suppose Gorgonzilla is correct that "cracker" is too jargony. -Pete 04:17, 24 April 2007 (UTC) Cracker is both the correct term and a commonly used term for describing this type of activity. It has been used in news reports and articles intended for the general public. Using the term hacker is incorrect. Wikipedia should probably try to avoid being incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.61.185.203 (talk) 15:05, 29 September 2008 (UTC) Kevin was a Malicious Hacker = The term hacker is ther term adopted by the media in general and by the hackers themselves. I am entirely familliar with the MIT use of the term, I worked at MIT. It is unfortunate that the crackers have appropriated this term but they have been successful in doing so. Attempting to redefine the term at this stage is futile. If you want to refine the term, point out that Kevin was frequently vindictive and malicious. He is also pretty unrepentant, he still whines about the length of the prison term he got, I don't think it was enough. Kevin is still a hussler, its just that his latest scam, security consulting is at least legal even if it is difficult to see how any client could trust him. HallamBaker Oh dear. You have no idea how he could make money because, and I quote, "it is difficult to see how any client could trust him". Well, its always good to know that even people who can go to MIT will still be too stupid to do anything good with their life. Especially if such a simple thing escapes them. 58.170.161.3 (talk) 16:57, 8 March 2009 (UTC) Harlequin Mitnick nukes the world "while also held in solitary confinement for eight months "in order to prevent a massive nuclear strike from being initiated by me via a prison payphone." The nuclear strike would hit New York city and surrounding areas and also hit the outskirts of South Korea by whistling the secret passcode in to the receiver" What the hell? Is this Dr. Strangelove crap real? Gamaliel 02:43, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC) I found reference to Mitnick's assertion that there were unreasonable fears that he could whistle into a phone and start a nuclear war, but I could find no reference to the NYC and South Korea bits, so I removed them. If someone wishes to reinstate them, proper attribution of who said or asserted it should be included. AdmN 18:56, 29 Aug 2004 (UTC) Copyright vio sorry to rain on the parade, but the following section section appears to be taken from here: http://www.takedown.com/bio/mitnick.html "It was the fifth time that Mitnick had been apprehended for a computer crime, and the case attracted nationwide attention because, in an unusual plea bargain, he agreed to one year in prison and six months in a counseling program for his computer "addiction." It was a strange defense tactic, but a federal judge, after initially balking, bought the idea that there was some sort of psychological parallel between the obsession Mitnick had for breaking in to computer systems and an addict's craving for drugs" This is interesting. Isn't it ? :) I once read something that suggested that some people who break into secure/forbidden things (like a network) enjoy it the same way some guys enjoy penetrating a virgin. Armedblowfish 22:52, 25 April 2006 (UTC) 3 years 2001. also, in my opinion, the physical isolation from any type of computer, phone, etc. was seen as failure on the part of the authorities, who failed to catch Mitnick for so many years. aside form that, even though I don't suggest that anybody take up a career in hacking or cracking, i must say the man was a genius. --Zeerus 01:27, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC) I could be wrong, since my knowledge of such terms is limited, but isn't what Mitnick did normally known as "phreaking?" And if so, shouldn't the article refer to him as a "phreaker" rather than "cracker" or "hacker?" He was both, but the majority of his illegal activity centered around breaking into computer equipment rather than manipulating telephones, so "phreaker" would be a secondary label. Gary D Robson 22:17, 29 November 2005 (UTC) In one of the books about him (don't remember which one), it detailed how he was able to provision himself telephone features such as Caller ID through both social engineering and accessing the switches, before those features were available to the public; accessing the switches would certainly fall into phreaking. And he and one of his buddies would reprogram the switches in order to win dial-in radio contests. MeekMark 02:51, 24 June 2006 (UTC) I placed the article in Category:2600: The Hacker Quarterly since Mitnick spoke at HOPE, writes articles, etc... Paul 07:11, 4 January 2006 (UTC) The supposed bus hack as a kid Smacks of what I know of Bill Gross personally. And that he was 5 years too late for it ... - Sparky 16:02, 21 April 2006 (UTC) Kevin Mitnick as a ham radio operator One thing I wanted to put in the article was that Kevin Mitnick is an amateur radio operator. Where do you think it would fit? Ryan 23:01, 30 April 2006 (UTC) Kevin D. Mitnick, N6NHG. General class amateur radio license. (Information from the FCC Database) --147.126.46.147 01:22, 19 July 2006 (UTC) That's no Genius! In rebutle to the above, Mitnick is no genius: Many, many people have the knowledge to do what he did; Mitnick used his knowledge for breaking the law and getting caught and going to jail, instead of doing something constructive and making money. That's no genius, that's one stupid dummy. (Not signed) Well, he's pulling probably $3-500k a year in speaking fees right now, plus royalties on 2 books - one a best seller. That's a lot better than a senior Unix admin, right? Is there a bit of anger there...perhaps? Wanna tell us about it? 24.126.126.105 06:57, 9 October 2006 (UTC) Genius as defined by WP is "Great intelligence, who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative or original work." well the first part is inarguably correct the second part is the dispute, one could easily argue he was neither creative nor original. I think the most correct term would be extraordinarly cunning.Colin 8 20:47, 4 June 2007 (UTC) No bail hearing How about the fact that Kevin was kept in jail without a Bail hearing? Not "without bail"- lots of criminals have bail denied, but until Mitnick, every accused person was allowed to have a Bail Hearing. ....from the transcript of the March 30, 1998 hearing: [Defense counsel making reference to the bail motion while addressing other motions currently pending before the Court.] Mr. Randolph: Inasmuch as I have filed and I believe the Clerk has set a motion to have bail set on behalf of my client and that is set-- The Court: I am not going to give your client bail. Mr. Randolph: I think the matter is set for next Monday, your Honor, at 1:30. The Court: Well, I may take it under submission without oral argument because I am not going to give him bail. also- The Bail Reform Act of 1984 ("Act"), mandates that pretrial detention is permissible only where: "after a hearing pursuant to the provisions of [18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)], the judicial officer finds that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community." 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e). In this case, the district court's order was substantively flawed in that it failed to find that no conditions will reasonably assure his appearance or the safety of the community, as required by substantive due process. Furthermore, the district court's order was procedurally flawed in that the court refused to hold a hearing during which evidence relevant to this determination could be presented. 12.110.196.19 03:16, 9 July 2006 (UTC) What did he do? I know this might sound like a stupid question, but the article doesn't actually describe what he did, beyond a vague reference to some companies and that he was convicted of wirefraud. Much more space is dedicated to his incarceration than his actual crimes. Seems to me that this is something that needs to be added. I doubt that I am qualified to do so. Porphyrous 15:59, 26 October 2006 (UTC) Dude, that's right but if you want to know that details READ the damn book ! I just finished it yesterday (Takedown) and it explain all in details. Excellent book written by markoff & shimomura. Do not read Takedown. It's a fictitious load of bull. You want to know what Mitnick did and how he was persecuted? Find and watch the documentary Freedom Downtime from 2600 films. Yes, if you are interested in a vitriolic paranoid's opinion, presented as fact. 72.198.221.25 09:15, 1 December 2007 (UTC) Read the book? READ THE BOOK? Are you a complete ***** moron.(profanities aren't necessary) This is wikipedia. If we get the information, we shall put it in. If it is sourced, we shall establish it. We do NOT leave shit out simply because it would "spoil the ending" of a book. Shit, we dont leave shit out on the pages of books and movies, instead going into spoilerific plot details. Get the .... out. 58.170.161.3 (talk) 16:55, 8 March 2009 (UTC) Harlequin More content anyone? I've seen two hour documentaries over this guy. Surely someone can cram more crap in here? It never mentions any of the stuff he did. Not only does it fail to explain why he's infamous (other than he committed wire fraud, and if I did that, I'd probably not be famous, right?), but the seemingly second-most important thing is that a bunch of people deface his website. That should be close to the last thing in the article because it really doesn't say much about him. Unfortunately, we need sources for everything. So someone needs to pick up a book and read it. Seriously, this article is disappointing for what I expected. I expected to learn things I didn't already know. Instead, I'm finding I know things that aren't listed here (though I can't add it because I can't cite "Ziggythehamster's brain"). Thanks to anyone who can help. Ziggy the Hamster 05:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC) It seems odd that this article doesn't mention the 1994 Christmas attack against Tsutomu Shimomura. See http://www.totse.com/en/hack/hack_attack/hacker03.html for information concerning that attack. 66.134.227.18 09:33, 9 February 2007 (UTC) Mitnick in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories He isn't credited in the credits! It musn't be right! Please respond! ProSieben 15:01, 14 November 2006 (UTC) Just for clarity... I'm splitting the references to him in popular culture into their own section, leaving "Recent activities" specifically for things that he's done. TankRamp 13:04, 5 January 2007 (UTC) vandals some retard actually used the words "haxor" and "pwned" Wikipedia needs a retard pole to keep editors away it may also need a giant smacking stick for people who use bad language to complain about bad language. Edgeways 04:54, 22 March 2007 (UTC) I must say This article is remarkably poorly written. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.250.176.23 (talk) 18:10, 21 February 2007 (UTC). Where did the books go? Weren't there articles covering John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura's Takedown(missing), and Jonathan Littman(missing)'s The Fugitive Game(missing). There are no deletion logs. Weird. I could have sworn... --Lexein 07:01, 16 March 2007 (UTC) Early life - removing anti-Semitic content "Kevin Mitnick had a Jewish upbringing." What does this statement mean, beyond simply claiming that he is Jewish? There is no citation, and no further details provided. Why is this statement relevant here at all? Given the descriptions of unscrupulous conduct in other parts of this article, it appears that the intention is an anti-Semitic insinuation. So I am removing this comment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ygale (talk • contribs) 09:57, 29 January 2008 (UTC) I understand your concern. It wouldn't be the first time antisemitism has been skewed under the guise of something else. However, I am Jewish myself and would be horrified by such a thought. Kevin Mitnick isn't as bad as the press and court portrayed him, and today he uses his talents to help others. Fact is that wikipedia articles often bring origins and religion in their articles. Kevin Mitnick is Jewish, demanded kosher food in prison and after being released in 1989, a therapist suggested he spend some time at a treatment center for addicts. Thus, Kevin spent several months at Beit T'Shuvah, a treatment center for Jewish ex-cons with addiction problems and no place to go. So you might leave it out if you want. I think the guy is of a great intelligence and just proves another great Jewish mind. Wow...just wow. And they say we have enough problems on the Israeli boards with the same type of morons claiming criticism of Israel is "Anti-Semitic". And the racism and ignorance in the latter post makes it even worse. No, saying that hes Jewish is NOT anti-semitic. I have no idea what backwards, bigoted, ignorant hole you crawled from to reach such a conclusion...but next time, regardless of whether it was true and/or sourced, maybe take a look at the article and take a guess that an editor must have thought he was Jewish because of his last name. 58.170.161.3 (talk) 17:00, 8 March 2009 (UTC) Harlequin Myths I am a little confused that "Hacked into Tsutomu Shimomura's home computer" is listed as a myth, when the citation to support this is a link to the site and seems to indicate that Mr Mitnick did in fact break into Mr Shimomura's system. So my question is: is this incorrectly placed as a myth, or is there a different citation to support it being a myth? Jockm (talk) 16:43, 4 April 2008 (UTC) The link supports the fact that there is such an accusation. There needs to be a link debunking it, though :| Crimson30 (talk) 23:05, 22 June 2008 (UTC) I am going to remove the whole myths section for now... sources saying that an accusation was made is entirely different from a source to show that it's a myth, and from a glance at the section it looks like many, if not most or all, are not adequately supported. Even someone claiming that they are myths would not be verification that they are myths, because there are people who make disputing claims all the time. It's pushing POV to assume that one side is correct. DreamGuy (talk) 19:19, 22 July 2008 (UTC) Kevin Mitnick myths Hacked into NORAD[1][2][3] "Theft of... at least 20,000 credit card numbers from computer systems around the nation"[2][3] Issued a false press release for Security Pacific Bank causing a $400 million loss in market capitalization[1] Changed a judge's TRW credit report[1] Turned off the utilities of an FBI agent[2][4] Vandalized many government, corporate and university computer systems[5][3] Hacked into Tsutomu Shimomura's home computer[3] Harassed actress Kristy McNichol[2] Hacked Microsoft Redmond campus databases The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security, by Kevin Mitnick (2002, Hardback ISBN 0-471-23712-4, Paperback ISBN 0-7645-4280-X) Freedom Downtime made in 2001 by Emmanuel Goldstein and produced by 2600 Films A Most-Wanted Cyberthief Is Caught in His Own Web by John Markoff 1995 New York Times Takedown (film) made in 2000 by Joe Chapelle and produced by Miramax 2600 Live Mitnick interview, 2600 Magazine, Released January 2003, Run time: 1 hr 18 min 5 sec ALIAS? "Mitnick guest starred in a first season episode of Alias. The casting was an in-joke, since Mitnick played a CIA hacker. Due to the conditions of his parole, however, the computer he used in the scene was a prop." Does anyone know which episode this was? Sephiroth storm (talk) 16:23, 20 June 2008 (UTC) REF tags seem screwy The ref tags on this page seem screwy. They look like they need to be fixed. This is a ping to anyone with experience using the new ref system to fix them. Thanks in advance. — fcsuper (How's That?, That's How!) (Exclusionistic Immediatist ) — 13:44, 1 November 2008 (UTC) Question about the court hearing of Mitnick video [1] Im wondering why at 2:03 the judge doesnt even listen to Mitnick, is this not an unfair trial..? Pickysticks (talk) 13:55, 12 January 2009 (UTC) Quality of Style? There is a cleanup tag on this article, what specificly is requested? Sephiroth storm (talk) 05:45, 14 January 2009 (UTC) Who is Suzy Thunder? How does she relate to Kevin Mitnick again? It says in the article that she was the one who told authorities that Mitnick could cause a nuclear war by whistling into a telephone. I do not think this information is accurate. Searching Google Video for hacking yields a 50 min video about hacking, and in it Kevin Mitnick himself says that during one of his trials, the prosecutor told the judge that if he [Kevin Mitnick] had access to the payphone inmates used to contact their families, he could start a nuclear war. At this time this movie can be found at, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5512733670886412215&q=hacking&hl=en Susan Thunder was a girl enamored of Kevin in the late eighties. He blew her off and she got pissed and started blabbing. She's now a prostitute in 'Vegas and does pretexting on the side for extra cash. stories, including his own, tell of the penetration by Mitnick and his friends of what is called, reverentially, "The Ark" at Digital Equipment Corporation. Although rare at that time outside of DEC, inside there was a whole network of computers with addresses using up to six RAD-50 characters. ARK:: was the address of the RSTS development system. It was nothing special, just another PDP-11/70, and certainly not the sanctum sanctorum of Digital software that he makes it sound. Most operating system people in DEC at the time thought downloading old RSTS sources was a hilarious waste of time. I worked on a better OS on KERMIT:: and ALIEN::, that RSX guy, Ortolan88 05:37, 28 January 2003 (UTC) Fake IDs? The article, as it reads right now, makes it sound like Mitnick spent 5 years in jail for having 4 fake IDs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 168.105.126.10 (talk) 08:47, 22 March 2007 (UTC) first sentence In the first sentence is explained Mitnick was incarcerated for more than four years without trial or a bail hearing. Is this fact more important than his actual conviction? According to the next section there was a trial. --78.34.4.52 (talk) 22:42, 8 March 2009 (UTC) That was clearly inappropriate. Thanks for removing it. DreamGuy (talk) 15:47, 29 March 2009 (UTC) Though I agree it should not be the first sentence of this article, there needs to be some non-implied reference made of the extraordinary length of his pre-trial confinement without a bail hearing. It is in all probability likely record-setting, and the most fascinating aspect of the case. ((Anonymous, 14:58:22 3 Sep 2009) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.172.96.17 (talk) 15:04, 3 September 2009 (UTC) "Free Kevin" Is it worth mentioning the "Free Kevin" movement and associated banners/stickers/shirts/etc. that were for a period of time nearly ubiquitous in certain circles? Not quite as widespread as, say, "Free Mumia", but it seems like it was a significant aspect of his popular fame (see e.g. this discussion). --Delirium (talk) 23:31, 6 April 2009 (UTC) Coin-toss as to whether it should be a subhead or a separate article. Definitely worth mentioning. — Adrian~enwiki (talk) 12:32, 13 May 2009 (UTC) FYI, I came hoping to read about that whole "Free Kevin" movement and yet I found nothing. I have spent the last two hours crying on the floor curled up in the foetal position because of this. So please add that info. Thanks!--72.1.222.80 (talk) 00:04, 21 May 2009 (UTC) I'll see what I can do. I do own "Freedom Downtime", and I'll see what else I can find. Sephiroth storm (talk) 11:52, 21 May 2009 (UTC) Cleanup I think this article needs a complete overhaul and rewrite. Instead of just tearing it apart, I'm going to propose my major changes here for discussion. If no one has any objections, I will go ahead. To start: The entire "Skills" section should be removed. It is completely unsourced and unencyclopedic. The "Downfall" section should be renamed to "FBI arrest" and reduced to what there are currently sources for. The "Controversy" section should be rewritten and unsourced material removed. The "Attacks on Mitnick's sites" section should be removed. It is not relevant to a biographical article, and it is poorly sourced. The "Recent activities" section should be rewritten as prose, and all unsourced material should be removed. Anything that is sourced to http://www.freekevin.com should be removed because that site now appears to be down. The "In popular culture" section should be rewritten as prose, and all unsourced material should be removed. After all of that, I am willing to find neutral, reliable sources and begin rewriting the article. Thoughts? --Mus Musculus (talk) 19:16, 23 April 2007 (UTC) Removing things cited to web sources which are now down is not standard procedure, afaik. That is the reason we have accessdate fields in the citation templates. In all likelihood the site is still available from the internet archive. Finding extant sources would be ideal, but there isn't, imo, any reason to remove the info.—WAvegetarian (talk) 19:24, 23 April 2007 (UTC) Good point. So are you more of the opinion that we can leave most information while we seek out sources? One strategy would be to only remove unsourced material that violates WP:BLP. For example, we would not want to state that Mitnick engaged in any illegal activities that we don't immediately have a source for. --Mus Musculus (talk) 19:35, 23 April 2007 (UTC) This article is terrible, one of the first things it states is that "he is considered a criminal by some, but has also gained many supporters who generally argue he was made a scapegoat and that his punishment was excessive" This is a huge POV, and also weasel words at the same time. First is "he is considered a criminal by some" this is clearly designed to give the impression he isn't really a criminal and that implication is furthured by "but he has also gained many supporters". He is by definition a criminal by having been convicted of crimes, and who are these "many" supporters?, how does the person who edited this know what they generally argue?, where are the citations for this statement? and who do these "many supporters" say he was a scapegoat for?. I am going to change this to "Though Mitnick has been convicted of computer related crimes and possesion of several forged identification documents, his supporters argue his punishment was excessive". I removed the dead link to http://littlegreenguy.fateback.com/chapter1/Chapter%201%20-%20Banned%20Editi... More than that, the domain is an untrusted site according to WOT --InfoGathering (talk) 16:48, 19 August 2009 (UTC) This article reeks of bias. You would never know that he was arrested 5-6 times for repeated computer crimes based on what is written here. Instead we get the impression that Mitnick is an innocent hero who is wrongly convicted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.16.68.248 (talk) 21:36, 30 January 2011 (UTC) Odd ordering of sections. I see no good reason for this BLP to not match most of our other BLPs in putting things in a reasonably chronological order, so I am editing that. If there's a good, substantive reason, please explain back here. Otherwise, it almost seems to be pushing emphasis on the arrest and conviction in an undue manner. ThuranX (talk) 05:46, 30 August 2009 (UTC) Feel free. Actually, I should add some more recent information about him, If I can find any. Sephiroth storm (talk) 13:02, 30 August 2009 (UTC) Additional Info I Researched Years Ago - Please Consider Adding I did a lot of research for a website I did in the early 2000's about actress Kristy McNichol. I found news clippings I got on eBay about how McNichol was being terrorized in the early 1990's with her phone cut off. This guy Mitnick was responsible for the activity that he went to prison for. This info is overlooked on this page that I believe warrants consideration. If anyone has any cites to use it would be much appreciated. Mitnick referred to this accusation in his book as being bogus, but he was put in jail partly for his crimes against McNichol. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.127.57.44 (talk) 06:26, 16 August 2011 (UTC) Alleged Crimes I know this wouldn't stand legally, but many of the alleged crimes are described in detail how he did them in "Ghost in the Wires." How should that be modified? Kalak55 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 19:39, 21 October 2011 (UTC). Sources? "He was also the former record holder of the fastest computer attack in the world (1988-2008) until succeeded by the Lebanese Hussein el Husseini A.K.A (The Napster) on June 26 2008, Husseini bettered Minitck by almost a full minute on the military firewall belonging to the pentagon he was responsible for what was known to be as the biggest military hack in history." No sources given. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kurapix (talk • contribs) 23:58, 11 August 2011 (UTC) .112.98.186|talk]]) 02:02, 11 November 2012 (UTC) Much additional sourcing, fact and POV checking is required per WP:BLP. Laval (talk) 17:48, 5 September 2013 (UTC) I agree with the above assessments and have been trying to neutralize some of the content and add some credible sourcing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Boorsours (talk • contribs) 11:53, 16 September 2014 (UTC) "Social Engineering" The term social engineering is misused in this article. Asking a bus driver a question and getting a reply is not social engineering, it's asking a question. If any flimsy pretext existed by which this could even be classed as any form of engineering; social it certainly is not. Social engineering is the attempt to manipulate society, not an individual in a "one off" incident. The same applies to the other incidents in which phone numbers, passwords etc. were obtained. The misuse of this term now includes various forms of computer malware, also inappropriately. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.90.2.92 (talk) 06:39, 1 August 2011 (UTC) That is the correct use of social engineering in this context. Mitnik uses that term in his autobiography to describe what he was doing. To me, it seems that the expression "social engineering" includes asking, lying, and impersonating people/job titles to obtain sensitive information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.141.202.117 (talk) January 4, 2012 Agree entirely with the above. I have attempted to reconcile the fact that it's typically known as "con artistry" or "confidence trick" by noting "social engineering" in parallel alongside the more common term of "confidence trick". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Boorsours (talk • contribs) 11:55, 16 September 2014 (UTC) Finding balance, finding sources Parts of this article read like promotional material for Kevin Mitnick... e.g. the Consulting section, which includes not one WP:RS to support its claims. Similarly, "Kevin at Defcon 2014" needs to reflect the single source that took note of his activity there, http://www.forbes.com/sites/ehrlichfu/2014/08/15/renowned-security-expert-ke... I did try to improve that section already, however. HouseOfChange (talk) 23:29, 16 November 2014 (UTC) Computer Hacking Section ...a crime he was charged with and convicted of... The grammatical version would be: ...a crime with which he was charged and of which he was convicted... I realize that this is a less readable construction approaching Churchill's, "up with which I will not put," so I didn't just edit it in. The editor overseeing this page is welcome to make the decision as to whether or not to change the text. It could also be shortened to: ...a crime of which he was convicted... since he was perforce charged with any crime of which he could be convicted. ☺ Dick Kimball (talk) 17:16, 4 March 2015 (UTC) External links modified Hello fellow Wikipedians, I have just added archive links to one external link on Kevin Mitnick. Please take a moment to review my edit. You may add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it, if I keep adding bad data, but formatting bugs should be reported instead. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether, but should be used as a last resort. 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Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes: Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111104215522/http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/... to http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316037709.htm When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs. This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 18 January 2022). If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool. If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool. Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 10:28, 9 December 2017 (UTC) The Cuckoo's Egg Was there ever a connection between Mitnick and The Cuckoo's Egg or am I remembering that incorrectly? Stéphane Charette (talk) 23:38, 19 May 2020 (UTC) A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: Kevin Mitnick .jpg You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 13:52, 13 August 2020 (UTC) Kevin David Mitnick — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.79.185.227 (talk) 20:30, 8 February 2021 (UTC) SCO? After reading the article on SCO - Santa Cruz Operation - I came here. And there's no mention of SCO here. Yet, there are 3 refs in section Trapping a hacker about events in 1987. Why the gap? Shenme (talk) 04:45, 5 June 2021 (UTC) About Hack Wanna be a Hackathon 2409:4071:D13:BB7D:93E5:1301:5D3C:1369 (talk) 10:20, 21 July 2022 (UTC) Debate about noting felony convictions in the opening sentence Hello, requesting guidance for a proposed edit to the Kevin Mitnick page. I noticed that someone mentioned that "Kevin Mitnick is an American convicted felon" normally wouldn't be noted in the first line of the article, UNLESS this is what the subject is known for. The rationale for inclusion came from using the Frank Abagnale article as a model (Abagnale even wrote a promotional blurb for Mitnick's published autobiography), and from the fact that this is indeed what Mitnick is most famous for. See a simple Google image search resulting in his wanted posters, as well as the fact that he promotes his "most wanted" status himself to position himself in his current field. Given this information, would it be inappropriate to make such an edit in the opening line of the article? Input appreciated. Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 20 July 2023 This edit request to Kevin Mitnick has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request. Kevin Mitnick died on July 16 (see his obituary here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/las-vegas-nv/kevin-mitnick-113716...) The article should be updated to refer to him in the past tense, and should include information about the date and cause of his death. Honksandsirens (talk) 01:25, 20 July 2023 (UTC) Already done EggRoll97 (talk) 04:00, 20 July 2023 (UTC) This page was last edited on 20 August 2023, at 00:34 (UTC).