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Kevin Mitnick has died

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Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#621

Post by maestroia »

stuff4ben wrote: post #502
eduction wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He has the CEO’s number and successfully calls him, and through some miracle gets through directly to ask this trivial question — as opposed to getting the number from the assistant who answers his phone - sure ok but then under what pretense does he then ask him to repeat his phone number? “Please repeat the phone number I just dialed.” The phone number contains all the digits needed to recreate the bank account num…

This is the 90's and early 2000's. We didn't have the security processes and checks like we do nowadays. I worked for a bank right after the dot-com crash and was in charge of their internet banking web presence. I was witness to other employees passing around CDs and printouts containing the private information of hundreds, maybe thousands of customers. This was the era when your SSN was your userid. So these CDs co…

In the mid-/late-80's, you could easily get full PII (SSN, Name, DOB, address, mother's maiden name, etc) green-bar paper reports someone tossed in the trash when finished.

Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#623

Post by ineedasername »

jdthedisciple wrote: post #470
ineedasername wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar thought, his social engineering abilities were very strong. If there was one person in the world willing to fake their own death to engineer access to something, it would have been him. A sad day.

> fake their own death to engineer access to something Care to elaborate?

what is there to elaborate, other than pointing out that he was good at social engineering things and finding behavioral or procedural loopholes to get access to systems?

Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#624

Post by samstave »

brandon272 wrote: post #537
samstave wrote: post #511

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I come from a long line of clinical/medical folks in my family - and me on the tech side of medicine... That said the following is me talking out my ass, but I have followed a very few number of pancreatic cases - jobs being one... and there is one anecdotal that I would hope people closer to such cases can chime into ; how much wine did these people drink (jobs was a prolific wine drinker) Im wondering if sulfates f…

Anything that I have read about Jobs was that he rarely drank alcohol.

I withdraw my statmenet because all data conflicts and I have no idea.

Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#626

Post by gabereiser »

LawTalkingGuy wrote: post #611
jhugo wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt the bank’s authentication system is built to allow the CEO’s voice to authenticate a transfer out of any account …

When you do pen testing you're given a limited list of valid targets. I imagine that the mission parameters were that he take a check and remove money from the account. It would also make sense that this is the CEO's account, or one he also controls, because he's in on the test and can give informed consent. Also, probably the CEO doesn't have any special access so breaking into his identity wouldn't impact the bank…

This is probably closer to the truth. That it was a test all along.

Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#627

Post by JohnFen »

butterfi wrote: post #588
stuff4ben wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the 90's and early 2000's. We didn't have the security processes and checks like we do nowadays. I worked for a bank right after the dot-com crash and was in charge of their internet banking web presence. I was witness to other employees passing around CDs and printouts containing the private information of hundreds, maybe thousands of customers. This was the era when your SSN was your userid. So these CDs co…

I was once asked by Target for my SSN because I was returning a product. That was in the early 2000s

I used to keep Richard Nixon's SSN in my wallet for just these sorts of situations.

Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#628

Post by mcv »

samstave wrote: post #618
kjs3 wrote: post #542

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jobs famously didn't drink much alcohol; he was way more into exotic fruit juices and such. Where did you get the idea he did? And what's with the oddly narrow "must be the sulfates, in wine specifically". Why not tannins? Polyphenols? Organic acids? We already know alcohol contributes to a variety of cancers...what compelling evidence is there that sulfate need be involved?

His Sommelier. I cant go into it. (and still this is not first hand from me - just what I heard... so I accept being completely wrong) And I didnt meant to narrow - it was the more famous of what you states, and thank you. My money is on tannins, but that is just me...

Tannins? Aren't those also in tea? Could you please stop saying such scary things?

Re: Kevin Mitnick has died

#629

Post by jahsome »

eduction wrote: post #473
josh2600 wrote: post #48

Mitnick was a hacker hero of mine in my youth. I think I’ve understood his role as jester prior to conviction less as I’ve grown older, but there’s something about the boyhood charm of being so divorced from the potential consequences of one’s actions that is almost unique. Mitnick had so many stories that entranced the people around him. I heard one second hand of Mitnick dealing with a bank who had early voice veri…

He has the CEO’s number and successfully calls him, and through some miracle gets through directly to ask this trivial question — as opposed to getting the number from the assistant who answers his phone - sure ok but then under what pretense does he then ask him to repeat his phone number? “Please repeat the phone number I just dialed.” The phone number contains all the digits needed to recreate the bank account num…

Based on my understanding of the story in the post, Mitnick asked the CEO to read back the number he gave the CEO earlier that day.

I don't disagree it's likely all bullshit, but if you're going to post snarky, nitpicking comments at least make sure you're understanding what was communicated. It makes it all too easy to dismiss any valid points you may have when there are such fundamental flaws.

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