Computer programmer Kevin Mitnick, one of the FBI’s “most wanted” cybercriminals, killed away unexpectedly at the age of 59. After a two-year inquiry, Mitnick received a five-year jail term for computer and wire fraud in the 1990s.
After being released in 2000, he reinvented himself as a well-known “white hat” coder, cybersecurity expert, and author.
On Sunday, his 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer came to an end. “Kevin was an original; much of his life reads like a fiction story,” says his obituary.
As an only child, he was reared in the Californian San Fernando Valley and was characterized as “brilliant and restless, with a penchant for mischief, a defiant attitude toward authority, and a love of magic.”
Mitnick rose to fame in the 1990s for breaking into government-run commercial networks and websites, notably Pacific Bell, and collecting credit card and corporate data.
He gained access to the nation’s mobile networks, broke into business, governmental, and academic computer systems, and stole a vast amount of data nationwide, including thousands of credit card numbers.
Investigators ranked him as the “most wanted” hacker in the entire globe. After a two-year nationwide FBI chase, he was captured in 1995, and he eventually confessed to computer and wire fraud.
He may have had access to business secrets worth millions of dollars, according to authorities. In his 2011 autobiography, Ghost in the Wires, Mitnick denied using his abilities to steal or exploit information for financial advantage.
“Anyone who enjoys playing chess is aware that a victory is sufficient. It is profitable without seizing his territory or his belongings,” he said.
The hacking community staged a “Free Kevin” demonstration outside the jail where he was being kept after his arrest to demand his release.
He worked as a “white hat” programmer after getting out of prison and continued to write, speak in front of crowds, and write. “White hat” hackers look for security holes or vulnerabilities in a company to test security installations.
In 2003, he founded Mitnick Security Consulting, which provided cybersecurity advice to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
He was named in 2011 as a co-owner and “chief hacking officer” of KnowBe4, a company that provides phishing security awareness training.
The company said in a statement on Thursday that Kevin will always be remembered as “the world’s most famous hacker” and that his abilities as the first “social engineer” was what truly set him apart from the rest.
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