Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick is a convicted computer hacker who spent five years in prison for computer crimes. Mitnick currently runs Mitnick Security Counseling.

Fast Facts

1. Born: October 6, 1963
2. Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
3. Released from prison on January 21, 2000
4. His official website has been the victim of many hackers wanting to prove themselves
5. Has had two movies based around the events: Takedown and Freedom Downtime

History

Kevin Mitnick began his long history with hacking by bypassing the ticketing system for the Los Angeles bus system. From there, he branched out into various other forms of hacking, including social engineering. Mitnick first gained unauthorized access to a computer system in 1979 after he hacked into the Digital Equipment Corporation's computer network and caused a reported $160,000 in damages. This act brought the first of his many run-ins with law enforcement. For his actions, he was later convicted of computer crimes and given a five year jail sentence. He was released on January 21, 2000, and was not allowed to use any communication technology for three years as part of the terms of his probation. He fought this ruling and was eventually allowed access to the internet. Mitnick now runs Mitnick Security Counseling, a company that provides security services for corporations.

Notorious Hacks

1. Getting free bus rides in Los Angeles, California
2. Hacking into private DEC systems to view unreleased source code
3. Evading the FBI by using fake identities
4. Hacking into IBM, Motorola, Nokia and Sun computer systems

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