Kevin Mitnick, RIP

Kevin Mitnick, RIP

The original “social engineer”

Those who have saw cybersecurity evolve over the years will be saddened by the death due to complications in the surgery related to pancreatic cancer of Kevin Mitnick. He was just 59 years old.

Kevin turned over a new leaf in his life and moved from the dark side of breaking into computer networks to the good side of inspiring a whole generation into cybersecurity. While there are many people who just switch people off within cybersecurity, Kevin spoke in a way that allowed cybersecurity to be understood by the masses while also inspiring others into great careers.

His roots in cybersecurity can be traced to the 1990s, and where he was accused of stealing credit card data from a range of sources, and on hacking into mobile phone networks and corporate networks. At one time, he was named the World’s “most wanted” computer hacker:

In fact, the FBI searched for over two years for Kevin related to charges of telephone misuse and computer fraud, But in 1995, they managed to capture him. Then, in 1998, some of his supporters managed to take over The New York Times website, and shut it down. By 1999, Kevin pled guilty to the charges and received a 46-month prison term. For this, he was not allowed to use a computer or mobile phone for at least three years after his release.

The search for Kevin is immortalized in the TakeDown movie (known as TrackDown in the US), and based on the book entitled, “Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America’s Most Wanted Computer Outlaw — By the Man Who Did It”. Kevin outlined that the book and movie were highly inaccurate and mostly based on hype, such as the hacking of NORAD and the NSA, and which never actually happened. The Freedom Downtime documentary is thought to be a more actuate version of events [here].

His reformation happened after his release from prison in 2000, and he has since become one of the leading authors and public speakers in all things related to cybersecurity. In 2003, he become the first “social engineer” with his book entitled “The Art of Deception” [here]:

But most people will recognise Kevin from his famous “Ghost in the Wires” memoir, published in 2011:

In the book, Kevin outlined his continual fascination with breaking into digital systems, including how he managed to fake $15 punch cards for bus travel and that he did not actually capture credit card information in his hacks of systems. For him, it was a game of cat-and-mouse and the thrill of the chase.

Conclusions

There are so few around who can really engage with a wide audience and so many who just scare or bore the general public. Kevin was unique and a great loss, and the original “social engineer”.

Note: Kevin had a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer and died on Sunday July 16, 2023.