World’s Most Famous Hacker
At the age of 59, Kevin Mitnick, who was once regarded as the “most wanted” cybercriminal in America, has died.
According to an obituary, Mitnick passed away on July 16th following a 14-month struggle with pancreatic cancer.
According to the notice, he had been receiving care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre for his ailment.
Mitnick, a legendary player in the early hacker scene, is most known for committing a number of bizarre cybercrimes in the 1980s and 1990s.
His online misadventures culminated in a massive FBI pursuit that resulted in his arrest and imprisonment for a number of computer offences in 1995.
Mitnick rebuilt himself as a public speaker, published author, and “white hat” cybersecurity expert after serving a brief prison sentence.
Mitnick often stole credit card numbers and company data when breaking into numerous corporate networks in his 20s and 30s, including Pacific Bell.
He entered a guilty plea in 1999 to several offences, including wire fraud and computer fraud.
He became considered as the “most well-known hacker in the world” due to his imprisonment and infamy.
Which sparked the “FREE KEVIN” hacker community movement that advocated for the imprisoned cybercriminal.
Mitnick was freed from prison after serving five years and began anew.
He established Mitnick Security Consulting in 2003; and it has since worked with and provided advice to many Fortune 500 firms as well as governmental organisations.
In addition, he published a number of novels, including the autobiography Ghost in the Wires, which described his criminal exploits and formative years.
His obituary stated that, ” he set incredibly high standards for himself and those with whom he worked.”
and that he “would get lost for hours in complex problems encountered in his work.”
“He continuously improved his hacking abilities while being self-educated and propelled by enthusiasm, great desire, immense curiosity, and seemingly infinite energy.
He was relentless in driving both himself and his colleagues to strive for perfection in their trade.
