Former Hacker to Defend Security
One of the world’s most famous computer hackers gets off probation this week and plans to dive back into the Internet, his former playground where breaking-and-entering landed him in jail for five years.
On Tuesday, 39-year-old Kevin Mitnick will log on to the Internet for the first time in eight years, during the live TechTV show “Screen Savers.” Also scheduled to be on the program are Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster Inc., and Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple Computer Inc.
Mitnick, who lives in Thousand Oaks, says he is ready to go to work, ironically, in a position where he will be helping protect companies against the kind of hacking he used to do. He has a job interview scheduled for today but declined to name the company.
“What’s going to be a struggle ... is convincing people in the security space that a lot of what was written about me is not true, and what is true, I’m sorry about,” he said in an interview. “I paid my debt to society, and I’m trying to do a positive thing. I can’t change the past.”
One of the first computer hackers prosecuted, Mitnick was labeled a “computer terrorist” and became a cause celebre after leading the FBI on a three-year manhunt for breaking into computer networks and stealing software at companies including Sun Microsystems Inc., Novell Inc. and Motorola Inc.
He pleaded guilty in March 2000 to wire and computing fraud and intercepting communications and has been on supervised release since then, with restrictions on his travel, employment and use of technology.
He has been allowed to use a cell phone and computer, but not one connected to the Net.
Although he will be able to surf the Net and send e-mails, Mitnick will still be barred from making money off his story until 2010, a condition of his release he plans to fight.
Mitnick said he’s been approached by people interested in doing a movie based on his life including Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey.
Even though he was banned from using the Internet, Mitnick has in recent years turned to one of the most popular Web sites, auction site EBay. He had his girlfriend post and then pull from the site two laptops he used to commit his crimes, after getting too many bogus bids. He is re-listing them this week, as well as the computer he used to write his book, in the hopes of paying off the $10,000 he still owes his attorney.
