Not sure if this is folklore but Kevin Mitnick installed a firewall for the White House.
Kevin Mitnick has died
271–280 of 666 posts
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#272He certainly was an interesting person. It was always amazing the degree to which law enforcement prosecuted his hacking and cracking, when it seems like much more impactful crimes involving computers go uninvestigated. Plenty of people are hounded by threats of violence into leaving their jobs and homes, that seems far more impactful than Mitnick's crimes. And FYI, while he died unexpectedly young, a 57-year-old man…
On the flip side, his child will grow up knowing he had the coolest dad ever.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Mitnick above all wasn’t boring and I think “not boring” doesn’t get enough credit in the measure of a man. My wife might agree or disagree with you, depending on the day.
My ex certainly wasn't boring. But they certainly were physically abusive. I don't believe that automatically qualifies someone as deserving of credit.
I don't think anyone would claim that not being boring is the only worthwhile measure of a person. But assuming nobody wants to be around a person who is causing harm purposefully, I'll take interesting over boring.
I'm sorry about your ex, and I hope you have the support you need.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#274Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#275Mitnick was a hero to me. Very sad to hear this.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really enjoyed the book Takedown, about Shimomura's pursuit of Mitnick - I must have read it three or four times. I always wondered what happened to Shimomura, since he just seemed to drop out of sight after that book came out.
Shimomura was an egotistical asshole at the time. However, he was younger then and can hopefully acknowledge he was still learning about himself and wasn’t all-wise yet. I hope Shimomura can realize that Mitnick made him a better version of himself, both personally and professionally.
His ego came through a bit in the book, but honestly that's a fairly common trait for young guys. I am also quite aware that the book only presents one side of the story and that Mitnick had quite a different perspective. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. My enjoyment of the book was much more about the process they used to track him down, and the detailed description of them building tools to aid in the process, rather than the people involved.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#277When I was 16 years old, I started a 2600 meeting at a local mall food court. We joined in the 'Free Mitnick' movement, and would go around handing out flyers, explaining the implications of his case, peppering the place with stickers, putting them in copies of 2600 in Barnes & Noble and Borders. His case was an inspiration to a budding little hacker and taught me to become more idealistic and push for legal reforms and the rights of people who were punished far more than they deserved. Later in life I got to meet him at hacker conventions, and he was a super nice guy. I even got one of his lock-pick-set business cards! I know he's somewhat of a controversial figure, but he was also inspirational.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
As one of the people whose credit card number was stolen from Netcom, I would strongly object to this. I'm not here to speak poorly of the dead, but I'm definitely here to judge those who think too highly of him.
It isn’t about thinking highly of him. His impact on security is well documented and very extensive. The black banner is used for honoring notable technologists who pass away. Regardless of personal thoughts, he was a very notable technologist and sort of first famous social engineer. I’m sorry he stole your cc.
I appreciate your kindness towards me.
But he wasn't a first famous social engineer. That was extremely old hat by then.
People keep claiming he is a notable technologist, but I can't think of how. The Internet and other systems had intrinsic design flaws in the early day because it was birthed as an overly trusted network of well-known peers. Poking for flaws in those days didn't require any skill. The Morris worm, for example, was extremely skillful.
My biggest exposure to anything related to him is KnowBe4 and it is an utter piece of crap. It provides training modules that have no idea who their audience is so it veers wildly between terrible advice and overly technical advice with alongside the correct advice.
And lastly, and I mean this sincerely, my condolences to his family and friends. No one should have to go through this so young.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#279I talked to Mitnick once on the phone. I was on a partyline back in the AIM days and a hacker friend of mine called him up. Kevin seemed very frustrated that he kept calling him. I was just dumbfounded I was actually on the phone with Kevin Mitnick so I didn't say anything. Was shocked and saddened to see this. Sorry about that night, Kevin. Rest in peace.
Re: Kevin Mitnick has died
#280Serious 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 didn't steal anything except source code. He didn't do anything that was truly reprehensible. I feel it's premature to comment on SBF. He hasn't even been tried yet.