Mitnick Renews HAM, Surfing in the mists

[tyger_claw]

Hey Al,

Just thought I'd give you guys a little news update on the famous Kevin Mitnichk. Here are some more interesting parts of the article...

The nation's most infamous computer hacker, caught in 1995 during a dramatic midnight raid at a North Raleigh apartment complex, is nearing the end of his probation and is about to gain his Internet freedom once again. Federal prosecutors once dubbed Kevin Mitnick, 39, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., "the most wanted computer criminal in U.S. history."

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And next month he'll be allowed to resume surfing the Internet, where the government says it will NOT keep an extraordinary eye on him.

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Mitnick said he is starting a firm to help companies protect themselves from computer attacks. He said the end of his probation will allow him to do hands-on work.

The whole story is Here

More on the story Here & Here

[THE RADICAL]

Nice post tyger_claw, hes a pretty fascinating character indeed and I recommend reading his book The Art Of Deception to anyone who is interested in computer security...which would be just about everyone here, heh. I'm just finishing it up myself and its pretty good. (Increasing reading speed cause I want to get going on the book Counter Hack, by Ed Skoudis, that I got for X-Mas.) Shifting back though, yea he's a pretty intersting guy, but do you think that he's really turned over to be a "productive citizen." I would say in many aspects yes, but he seems to me the kinda guy that does what he does reguardless... what are your thoughts???

--Peace

[The Old Man]

Here's my thoughts, TheRadical, Kevin has paid his dues, gotten a lot of publicity in the process and now is starting a security outfit. If he can convince his clients he can actually provide them with security, and no backdoors with "KM" etched on them, then he will make a lot of $ in his new venture. One problem i wonder about is that if he has a "felon" record there is no company with a Gov contract that can hire him, since he would have to pass a security clearance. Computing security will become even more important to companies (and some private people) in the future than it is now. Everyone who takes personal info over the Net has an actual liability for the security of that personal info, according to their policy.
Anyway, Kevin Mitnick will probably become a success in his new venture. Anyway, TMHO

[THE RADICAL]

Yea your probrobly right with what you said reguarding his success in his new ventures, the guys a sensation. Still I wonder if there are any "good" security companies who go by the motto "use a thief to catch a thief," ya know, still there is a huge element of trust to be maintained with that statement. Those kind of people will really have to think about the question I posted above extra hard.

[t2k2]

The fact that he has been getting so much press over the years will make his business venture very profitable, I'm sure. As far as trusting him with the security of a company, I am not sure that I would do it, but I have to admit that I believe that this will both help and hurt him. Perhaps, it will help more than hurt. It may server as some sort of badge of experience for the security industry. I mean, you know what they say about security professionals - we should be able to think like the attacker, to try and stay one step ahead if possible. I don't know - just throwing something out there. TheOldMan: I think I have heard about felons not being able to get government contracts. The Radical: enjoy the book; it was a great read! I would recommend it to anyone. I think I actually did a review in the Book Review forum.

t2k2

[SarinMage]

.im wondering what his HAM licence number is, mines N2ZLL,