Serious question: why revere Mitnick, but not someone like SBF? Mitnick is admired for his technical skill and social engineering prowess, but the same argument could be made that SBF is also exceptional in this regard on an even larger scale. Both are (alleged) criminals. Genuinely curious what makes Mitnick morally good in the eyes of HN. Was it his redemption arc as a “white hat”?
Mitnick was not just skilled, he was creative, pushed things too far, and the internet rallied around him nonetheless. He went after corporations that people didn't like, even if he did it for personal gain. SBF seems like an average white collar criminal next to Mitnick. He wanted to become those big corporations with their names on stadiums.
Yeah, this makes sense. Wasn’t super familiar with the target of Mitnick’s hacks but looks like mostly monopolies like Pac Bell and government. SBF was also “hacking” SV investors and politicians, but probably inflicted more collateral damage on the little guy.