Kevin Mitnick, once dubbed America’s “most wanted” cybercriminal, has died aged 59 after a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
Mitnick is best remembered for carrying out a series of bizarre cybercrimes in the 1980s and 1990s. His digital escapades culminated in a nationwide FBI manhunt that led to his arrest and conviction in 1995 for various computer crimes.
When he was twenty and thirty, Mitnick hacked into a multitude of corporate networksincluding Pacific Bell, often stealing corporate data and credit card information.
In 1999, he pleaded guilty to several crimes, including wire fraud and computer fraud. His arrest and notoriety led to him being dubbed the “world’s best-known hacker” and fueled the “FREE KEVIN” movement within the hacker community, which lobbied on behalf of the arrested cybercriminal.
After serving five years in prison, Mitnick was released and started over. In 2003, he founded Mitnick Security Consulting, which has gone on to work with and advise numerous Fortune 500 companies, as well as government agencies.
He also wrote a number of books, including his memoirs, A ghost in the system (
€21.85), in which he detailed his youth and his criminal adventures.