If you were alive in the 1990s, you surely remember the name of Kevin Mitnick.
The man was a legend in the infancy of the internet.
He pulled off a series of hacks that were legendary, eventually leading to his arrest.
Cancer Wins Again
Mitnick, at the height of his hacking days, was considered “the nation’s most wanted computer outlaw.”
The man hacked for fun to show how vulnerable systems were, but he did significant damage in the early days of the internet.
He has hacked his way to 20,000 credit card files as well as doing millions in damage to operations systems.
His hacks were so damaging, some officials warned about a viable future for the internet.
The odd thing about Mitnick was that he never took advantage of his hacks; he was literally doing this for the sport of it.
He once wrote, “Anyone who loves to play chess knows that it’s enough to defeat your opponent.
“You don’t have to loot his kingdom or seize his assets to make it worthwhile.”
As happens with many hackers, Mitnick eventually transitioned to the other side, starting a company called KnowBe4, a cybersecurity firm.
Mitnick had only recently been diagnosed with cancer, losing the battle in just a short time.
Source: New York Times