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[1][2]
Kevin David Mitnick (August 6, 1963 – July 16, 2023) was an Americancomputer security consultant, author, and convictedhacker. In 1995, he was arrested for various computer and communications-related crimes, and spent five years in prison after being convicted of fraud and illegally intercepting communications.[6]Mitnick's pursuit, arrest, trial and sentence were all controversial, as were the associated media coverage, books, and films,[7][8] with his supporters arguing that his punishment was excessive and that many of the charges against him were fraudulent,[9] and not based on actual losses.[10] After his release from prison, he ran his own security firm, Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC, and was also involved with other computer security businesses.
Mitnick was born on August 6, 1963,[11] inVan Nuys,Los Angeles,California. His father was Alan Mitnick, his mother was Shelly Jaffe, and his maternal grandmother was Reba Vartanian.[12][13] Mitnick was Jewish,[14][15] and grew up in Los Angeles, California.[11] At age 12, Mitnick convinced a bus driver to tell him where he could buy his ownticket 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.[16]
Mitnick gained unauthorized access to a computer network in 1979, at 16, when a friend gave him thetelephone number for the Ark, the computer system thatDigital Equipment Corporation (DEC) used for developing itsRSTS/E operating system software.[23] He broke into DEC'scomputer 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 intoPacific Bell voicemail computers. After a warrant was issued for his arrest, Mitnick fled, becoming a fugitive for two-and-a-half years.[24]
According to theUnited States Department of Justice, Mitnick gained unauthorized access to dozens of computer networks while he was a fugitive. He usedcloned 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.[25][26] Mitnick also intercepted and stole computerpasswords, altered computer networks, and broke into and read private emails.[26][27]
After a well-publicized pursuit, theFederal Bureau of Investigation arrested Mitnick on February 15, 1995 at his apartment inRaleigh,North Carolina on federal offenses related to a two-and-a-half-year period of computer hacking that included computer andwire fraud.[29][30] He was found with cloned cell phones, more than 100 cloned cellular phone codes, and multiple pieces of false identification.[31]
In 1998, Mitnick was charged in theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California 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.[32] As part of aplea bargain, Mitnick pleaded guilty in 1999 to four counts of wire fraud, two counts of computer fraud, and one count of illegally intercepting a wire communication. U.S. district judgeMariana Pfaelzer sentenced Mitnick to 46 months in federal 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 intoPacific Bell voicemail and other systems and to associating with known computer hackers, in this case co-defendant Lewis De Payne.[1][33][34] He was diagnosed withAsperger syndrome, but it was not used as evidence because he pleaded guilty before going to trial.[35]
Mitnick served five years in prison—four-and-a-half years' pre-trial and eight months insolitary 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",[36] implying that law enforcement told the judge that he could somehow dial into theNORAD modem via a payphone from prison andcommunicate with the modem by whistling to launchnuclear missiles.[37] In addition, a number of media outlets reported on the unavailability ofkosher meals at the prison where he was incarcerated.[38]
Mitnick was released from prison on January 21, 2000. During his supervised release period, which ended on January 21, 2003, he was initially forbidden to use any communications technology other than a landline telephone.[39] 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 theSon of Sam law.[40]
Mitnick's criminal activities, arrest, and trial, along with the associated journalism, were all controversial.[7] Though Mitnick was convicted of copying software unlawfully,[42] his supporters argue that his punishment was excessive and that many of the charges against him were fraudulent[9] and not based on actual losses.[10]
John Markoff andTsutomu Shimomura, who had both been part of the pursuit of Mitnick, wrote the bookTakedown about Mitnick's capture.[43]
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 and the Mitnick story is often cited today as an example of theinfluence of news media on law enforcement personnel.[44]
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 andsimulated phishing testing,[45][46] as well as an active advisory board member atZimperium,[47] a firm that develops a mobile intrusion prevention system.[48]He resided inLas Vegas,Nevada.[49]
Mitnick died frompancreatic cancer on July 16, 2023, at the age of 59 at aPittsburgh,Pennsylvania hospital.[12] At the time of his death, he was married and his wife, Kimberley Mitnick (age 36), was pregnant with their first child, a son.[11][12][50][51][52] Kimberly remains active in the cybersecurity and hacking communities.[53]
In 2000,Skeet Ulrich andRussell Wong portrayed Mitnick and Tsutomu Shimomura, respectively, in the movieTrack Down (known asTakedown outside the US), which was based on the bookTakedown by John Markoff and Shimomura. The DVD was released in September 2004.[54]
^"Hacker Arraigned in Computer Fraud Case".Los Angeles Times. October 1, 1996.Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. RetrievedJuly 20, 2023.... as a student at James Monroe High School in North Hills, he broke into the Los Angeles Unified School District's computers.
^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.ISBN978-0786862108.
Kevin Mitnick with Robert Vamosi,The Art of Invisibility, 2017, HardbackISBN978-0-316-38049-2
Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon,Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker, 2011, HardbackISBN978-0-316-03770-9
Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon,The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind The Exploits Of Hackers, Intruders, And Deceivers, 2005, HardbackISBN0-471-78266-1
Jeff Goodell,The Cyberthief and the Samurai: The True Story of Kevin Mitnick-And the Man Who Hunted Him Down, 1996,ISBN978-0-440-22205-7
Tsutomu Shimomura,Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It, 1996,ISBN0-7868-8913-6
Jonathan Littman,The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick, 1996,ISBN0-316-52858-7
