Ask Kevin Mitnick

The hacker with perhaps the most famous first name around, Kevin Mitnick, has gone from computer hacking of the sort that gets one on the FBI's Most Wanted list (and into years of solitary confinement) to respected security consultant and author, helping people minimize the sort of security holes he once exploited for fun. His new book is called Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker; it's his first since the expiration of an agreement that he could not profit from books written about his criminal activity. Kevin's agreed to answer your questions; we'll pass the best ones on to him, and print his answers when they're ready. Note: Kevin also answered Slashdot questions most of a decade ago; that's a good place to start. Please observe the Slashdot interview guidelines: ask as many questions as you want, but please keep them to one per comment.

Comments

What if they had not cought you?

[Superken7]

How do you think would have happened in a scenario where you managed to escape the FBI and the hackers that helped them?

Anon & Lulzsec

[zero0ne]

What are your opinions on the actions of groups like Lulzsec & Anon? Do you feel that they will, in the end, expand freedom on the net or just help government tighten the noose on internet restrictions?

Computer Setup

[Anonymous Coward]

What is your computer setup? I mean hardware, OS, software you use to work.

SSA

[Anonymous Coward]

Has the gal from the Social Security Administration claimed her kiss? if so, was she hot?

Why wait?

[jeffmeden]

TFA Asserts that "Mitnick has agreed that any profits he makes on films or books that are based on his criminal activity will be assigned to the victims of his crimes for a period of seven years following his release from prison." The summary asserts that this is the reason you chose to wait before arranging for the publishing of a personal autobiography.

Given you had the opportunity to publish a copyrighted work and sell it for a profit prior to the release of your "official autobiography" under the pretense that the profits would be sent to the victims of your crimes (a number of which included theft of trade secrets and violation of copyright), why have you chosen to wait until the end of the agreement so that you could personally profit from this? And in a related question (unless you have answered it in the first), do you believe all of your crimes were vitcimless, some were, or perhaps none were?

Re:Colbert Report

[vlm]

Kevin Mitnick was recently on Colbert Report to promote his book. Here is the link if anyone's interested.

Yeah, thats the "7 digit UID new school /."

The old school 5 digit UID and below /. crowd would have reported that Kevin was on 2600 / off the hook "recently" to promote the book. Which show was it? I donno, probably one of these:

http://www.2600.com/offthehook/2011/0811.html

I listened; it was a fairly interesting interview.

Somewhere in between old school and new school, he was on some TWIT network show recently too, apparently this one:

http://www.twit.tv/show/triangulation/21

The twit network is generally a little too non-technical / mass market for me, although they certainly easily are more interesting than TV. I think it would be hilarious if Leo purchased the "tech tv" trademark from whoever owns it using his apparently voluminous petty cash fund (if you've seen his new studio, you'd know what I mean)

Now someone else chime in with his Dr. Phil episode for that / newbie tone. thats what the 8 digit UIDs watch, or so I hear.