Kevin David Mitnick is an American computer security consultant, author and hacker. In
1999, he was convicted of various computer and communications-related crimes. At the
time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States. He
now runs a security firm named Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC that helps test a company's
security strengths and weaknesses, and is the Chief Hacking Officer of security awareness
training company KnowBe4. Mitnick is an active advisory board member at Zimperium, a mobile
defense firm that develops a mobile intrusion prevention system.
Early life Mitnick grew up in Los Angeles and attended
James Monroe High School. He was enrolled at Los Angeles Pierce College and USC. For
a time, he worked as a receptionist for Stephen S. Wise Temple.
Computer hacking At age 15, Mitnick used social engineering
to bypass the punch card system used in the Los Angeles bus system. After a friendly bus
driver told him where he could buy his own ticket punch, he could ride any bus in the
greater LA area using unused transfer slips he found in the trash. Social engineering
became his primary method of obtaining information, including user-names and passwords and modem
phone numbers. Mitnick first gained unauthorized access to
a computer network in 1979, at 16, when a friend gave him the phone number for the Ark,
the computer system Digital Equipment Corporation used for developing their RSTS/E operating
system software. He broke into DEC's computer network and copied their software, a crime
he was charged with and convicted of 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 voice mail computers. After a warrant was issued for his arrest,
Mitnick fled, becoming a fugitive for two and a half years.
According to the U.S. 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. Mitnick also intercepted and stole computer
passwords, altered computer networks, and broke into and read private e-mail. Mitnick
was apprehended on February 15, 1995, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was found with cloned cellular
phones, more than 100 clone cellular phone codes, and multiple pieces of false identification.
Arrest, conviction, and incarceration
After a well-publicized pursuit, the FBI arrested Mitnick on February 15, 1995, at his apartment
in Raleigh, North Carolina, on federal offenses related to a 2½-year period of computer hacking.
In 1999, Mitnick confessed 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 agreement
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 PacBell voicemail and other systems and to
associating with known computer hackers, in this case co-defendant Lewis De Payne.
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",
meaning 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. He 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. Mitnick fought this decision in court, eventually winning
a ruling in his favor, allowing him to access the Internet. Under the plea deal, Mitnick
was also prohibited from profiting from films or books based on his criminal activity for
seven years, under a special judicial Son of Sam law variation. Mitnick now runs Mitnick
Security Consulting LLC, a computer security consultancy.
Controversy Mitnick's criminal activities, arrest, and
trial, along with the associated journalism, were all controversial. Though Mitnick has
been convicted of copying software unlawfully and possession of several forged identification
documents, his supporters argue that his punishment was excessive. In his 2002 book, The Art of
Deception, Mitnick states that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes
that he gained by social engineering. He claims he did not use software programs or hacking
tools for cracking passwords or otherwise exploiting computer or phone security.
Two books explored the allegations: John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura's Takedown, and Jonathan
Littman's The Fugitive Game. Littman made four main allegations:
Journalistic impropriety by Markoff, who had covered the case for the New York Times, based
on rumor and government claims, while never interviewing Mitnick himself;
Overzealous prosecution of Mitnick by the government;
Mainstream media over-hyping Mitnick's actual crimes;
Shimomura's involvement in the matter being unclear or of dubious legality.
Further controversy came over the release of the movie based on the book by John Markoff
and Tsutomu Shimomura, with Littman alleging that portions of the film were taken from
his book without permission. In addition, a number of media outlets reported on the
unavailability of Kosher meals at the prison where he was incarcerated.
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 mainstream newspapers can have on the law enforcement personnel.
Supporters of Mitnick have asserted that many of the charges against him were fraudulent
and not based on actual losses. Media
In 2000, Skeet Ulrich and Russell Wong portrayed Kevin Mitnick and Tsutomu Shimomura in the
movie Track Down, which was based on the book Takedown by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura.
The DVD was released in September 2004. A documentary named Freedom Downtime was produced
by 2600: The Hacker Quarterly in response to Takedown.
Mitnick is the co-author, with William L. Simon, of two computer security books and
his autobiography: The Art of Deception
The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers
Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker
On August 18, 2011, Mitnick appeared on The Colbert Report to talk about his new book.
On August 23, Mitnick was interviewed on Coast to Coast AM during the episode "Hacking & Technology".
On August 24, he appeared on the TWiT.tv network's Triangulation episode.
On September 12, 2011, Mitnick answered readers' questions on the technology news site Slashdot.
This was the second time he was interviewed on Slashdot, the first time being in February
2003. Pop culture references
Video games Mitnick is referenced in one of the in-game
emails of the videogame Deus Ex: Human Revolution. In the Rockstar video game Grand Theft Auto
III, on the in-game Chatterbox radio station, a paranoid caller yells "FREE KEVIN" before
he is cut off by the DJ. In the Rockstar video game Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas, on the in-game WCTR radio station, the same paranoid caller says he could "launch
a nuclear attack by whistling into a phone", a clear reference to the charges thrown against
Mitnick prior to incarceration. In the 2004 video game Vampire: The Masquerade
– Bloodlines a character named Mitnick provides optional hacking-related quests.
In the Telltale Game Sam & Max Save the World, Max makes an off-hand comment, "Why can't
we find an obscure criminal... like Kevin Mitnick!"
Graphic novels The 2012 graphic novel Wizzywig by Ed Piskor
is a close allusion to the story of Mitnick, with the main character's name replaced with
Kevin Phenicle. The novel parallels the entire story of Mitnick under the codename "Boingthump",
from his early days of phone phreaking, to his exploits in hacking into companies, through
to his eventual arrest and "Free Kevin" campaign, with many of the details of Mitnick's story
kept intact. TV
In "2πR", the eleventh episode of the second season of TV series Person of Interest, Mitnick
is mentioned by a computer teacher. In the sixth episode of the second season
of the anime Black Lagoon, the Lagoon company's resident hacker, Benny, claims after cracking
a code, "I'm as great as Kevin Mitnick". See also
List of computer criminals The Secret History of Hacking, a 2001 documentary
film featuring Kevin Mitnick References
Bibliography Books
Articles
External links Official website
Kevin Mitnick interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network