Kevin Mitnick
From Hack Story
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http://web.archive.org/web/19980201051535/http://iberhack.islatortuga.com/mitnik.htm
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Kevin Mitnick (nacido el 6 de agosto de 1963) es uno de los hackers y phreakers más famosos de los Estados Unidos. Su último arresto se produjo el 15 de febrero de 1995, tras ser acusado de entrar en algunos de los ordenadores más seguros de Estados Unidos. Ya había sido procesado judicialmente en 1981, 1983 y 1987 por diversos delitos electrónicos.
El caso de Kevin Mitnick (su último encarcelamiento) alcanzó una gran popularidad entre los medios estadounidenses por la lentitud del proceso (hasta la celebración del juicio pasaron más de dos años), y las estrictas condiciones de encarcelamiento a las que estaba sometido (se le aisló del resto de los presos y se le prohibió realizar llamadas telefónicas durante un tiempo por su supuesta peligrosidad).
Tras su puesta en libertad en 2002, Kevin Mitnick se dedica a la consultoría y el asesoramiento en materia de seguridad, a través de su compañía Mitnick Security (anteriormente llamada Defensive Thinking).
La vida de Kevin Mitnick y, en especial, la persecución que condujo a su captura en 1995 han dado lugar a multitud de libros y otro material de ficción. De entre todos, destaca la novela Takedown, que relata su último arresto. Y de la cuál han sacado una película con el mismo título, Takedown, en el año 2000.
Otra novela algo menos conocida es The Fugitive Game, escrita por Jonathan Littman. En ella también se narran los hechos acontecidos los últimos años antes de su arresto, aunque desde una perspectiva más intimista y no tan enfocada al autobombo por parte de los captores como la anterior.
Ingeniería social
Kevin Mitnick se dedica a la consultoría desde la óptica particular de la ingeniería social, considera que más allá de las técnicas de hardware y software que se pueden implementar en las redes, el factor determinante de la seguridad de las mismas es la capacidad de los usuarios de interpretar correctamente las políticas de seguridad y hacerlas cumplir.
Considera que todos podemos fallar fácilmente en este aspecto ya que los ataques de ingeniería social, muchas veces llevados a cabo solo con ayuda de un teléfono, son basados en cuatro principios básicos y comunes a todas las personas:
* Todos queremos ayudar. * El primer movimiento es siempre de confianza hacia el otro. * No nos gusta decir No. * A todos nos gusta que nos alaben.
Fundamentando estos conceptos, relató el 27 de mayo de 2005 en Buenos Aires (Argentina) en una de sus conferencias, el modo a través del cual pudo acceder fácilmente al código de un teléfono móvil en desarrollo, incluso antes de su anuncio en el mercado, con sólo 6 llamadas telefónicas y en escasos minutos.
Televisión y libros
* Mitnick aparece en el documental de Discovery Channel The history of hacking.
* Ha editado varios libros sobre el tema seguridad informática como The art
of deception y The art of intrusion.
http://www.euskal.com/sorginetxe/kevin.html
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http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/security/0,39023764,39116620-5,00.htm
Name: Kevin Mitnick Handle(s): Condor, from the movie Three Days of the Condor Age: 40 Place of birth:California, USA Marital status: Divorced. Now lives with girlfriend and her eight year-old daughter Current residence: Las Vegas, USA Job: Chief executive of Defensive Thinking First computer: Toshiba 4400 SX laptop Best known for: His notoriety Area(s) of expertise: Social engineering
Even though I was a hacker since the 70s, I used other people's
computers," confessed Kevin Mitnick. He didn't have to buy his own
computer until 1992!
Perhaps the best known computer criminal in the world, Mitnick has used his mastery of social engineering -- or plain trickery -- to illegally penetrate networks all across the globe. His misdeeds was the subject of a book and subsequent movie of the same name, Takedown.
After being imprisoned three times for hacking -- the third time spending four and a half years behind bars -- Mitnick has gone straight. He now writes books about security, travels the world as a professional speaker and runs Defensive Thinking, the company he built on the back of his notoriety.
It's easy to picture him as a leather-clad cyberpunk or a narcissistic, cold, calculating cybervillain.
So frankly it's a little disappointing to speak with him.
Mitnick is -- on the telephone at least -- one of the least offensive or aggressive subjects one is likely to encounter. He is pleasant and polite, and considering his reputation as a master of deception, fairly easy to read.
His generally upbeat demeanour doesn't waver, even when speaking of the hardest times in his life -- like when he spent around eight months in solitary confinement because a US court was convinced he could start a nuclear war by whistling into a telephone.
As you speak to Mitnick, you get the impression his mild manner isn't obscuring from view a malicious menace to society, but someone who feels victimised. Someone who feels he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and paid too high a price for his mistakes.
Starting out as a prankster while in high school in the late 70s, Mitnick fell in love with phreaking -- hacking the public phone network -- before being drawn into hacking computers.
"I was involved in phone phreaking before I was into computers. This was before AT&T was deregulated. I was pulling pranks on friends and family," Mitnick told ZDNet Australia in a recent interview. "I met this other kid, who knew about my shenanigans, who thought computers would interest me because phone companies were going from magnetic switches to computerised systems."
While still in high school, his first hack came in the form of a login simulator he authored. When run, the program would display a normal login prompt, but when a user name and password was entered, the details would be captured before logging the user on. Mitnick used this technique to obtain his teacher's username and password.
Looking back, he says he has been described as someone who had a terrible addiction to hacking, an all-consuming passion that wrecked his life. That's a bit of a stretch, he said.
"I'd spend a great deal of time on it ... it was my hobby. I wouldn't characterise it as heroin. I spent more hours than the average person would spend on the computer though," he said. To him, Mitnick exhibited the same sort of enthusiasm as a child hooked on an Xbox or Playstation.
He said his family has always been supportive of his passion for technology. "They encouraged it. They didn't know I was doing anything wrong until I got a visit from the FBI," he said. "I was in high school, I think I was 17. I don't remember why he visited me ... he didn't have any evidence, it was a part of an investigation."
Unlike many of his ilk, Mitnick came from a working-class background. His mother worked long hours as a waitress to support him.
These are details one never forgets ... and then some -- he recalls being locked up for the first time when he was "around 17 or 18".
"I went to the California Youth Authority," he said, his tone shifting slightly. "It wasn't fun, it wasn't like what you see in the movies. It was like being in a brig."
In 1988, he was back in the slammer for hacking into Digital Equipment -- which was acquired by Compaq Computer in 1998 -- to steal operating system source code. During that time he spent eight months in solitary confinement and until today, he attributes that stint to the failure of his marriage.
Things went seriously pear-shaped for Mitnick in the early 90s. He went on the run after realising that authorities were investigating him for parole violation. While on the run, he used various aliases such as Eric Weiss -- which was the real name of legendary magician and escape artist Harry Houdini -- to gain employment. He even spent a considerable amount of time working as a systems administrator for a law firm.
When the law caught up with him, he was thrown into prison for four and a half years. According to the US Department of Justice, Mitnick admitted to stealing software from Motorola, Novell, Fujitsu, Sun Microsystems, and Nokia. It's probably why he takes such a dim view of the imprisonment of terrorist suspects held -- without charge -- in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by American authorities.
"The United States is a police state. 9-11 was a horrible tragedy for the world, and the Department of Justice has used it to trample on [our] rights," he said. "[Now] the government makes the call as to whether you qualify for certain rights."
The tale of the hunt for Mitnick and his subsequent capture was documented into a book by security consultant Tsutomo Shimomura -- one of Mitnick's victims, and The New York Times journalist John Markoff.
Mitnick attributes his rough treatment by the US authorities in part to the publicity generated by Markoff in both writing about his exploits for the New York Times and co-authoring Takedown with Shimomura. "They turned me into 'Osama bin-Mitnick,'" he said.
"Not only did it demonise me, it was libellous," Mitnick said, obviously still annoyed over the way he was portrayed. "The only reason I didn't sue was because I was in custody at the time."
But Mitnick's patience bore fruit.
"What ended up happening is the movie came out in 1998 and I was able to get an attorney. I settled out of court for a large sum of money. Markoff is lucky, and Shimomura is lucky that there's a one year statute of limitations [on libel cases]," he explained. "They exploited me to make millions of dollars."
After his release from prison, Mitnick started working on a book titled The Art of Deception , centred around social engineering -- the technique he mastered that allowed him to trick system administrators and others into divulging information he shouldn't have been allowed to have. This included usernames and passwords, system dial-in numbers and much, much more.
He also wrote about his experience with Markoff and Shimomura, however his publisher refused to print the material. It has since found its way on to the Internet, known as the "Forbidden Chapter".
Mitnick has come a long way since his days in incarceration.
Currently working on his next book, tentatively called The Art of Intrusion , Mitnick is a sought-after public speaker and runs Defensive Thinking, a consultancy specialising in minimising the risks posed by social engineering. He freely admits that his notoriety is a big part of his recent success, but says his recent good fortune is what he's most proud of in life.
Now living in "sin-city" Las Vegas, Mitnick enjoys the simple things in life. "I like travelling, going to movies and shows ... I'm going to Metallica [concert] this Saturday. Woz is coming up, we're going together," he said. And he certainly has some interesting friends . "Woz " is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
But what he relishes the most is spending time with his girlfriend and her daughter. "My best accomplishment was the ability to take all this negativity and completely turn my life around," he said. -- Patrick Gray
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Kevin Mitnick: Recluso numero 89950-012
"Las carceles se arrastran por la humedad del mundo,
van por la tenebrosa sendera de los juzgados;
buscan a un hombre, buscan a un pueblo, lo persiguen,
lo absorben, se lo tragan.
(...)
Ser libre es una cosa que solo un hombre sabe:
Solo el hombre que advierto dentro de esa mazmorra
como si yo estuviera.
Cierra las puertas, echa la aldaba, carcelero.
Ata duro a ese hombre: no le ataras el alma.
Son muchas llaves, muchos cerrojos, injusticias:
no le ataras el alma.
Cadenas, si: cadenas de sangre necesita.
Hierros venosos, calidos, sanguineos eslabones
que no rechacen a los nudos siguientes
humanamente atados."
Las Carceles Miguel Hernandez
(Orihuela 1910 - Reformatorio de Adultos, Alicante 1942)
Hace algunas semanas vi, en una revista electronica brasile€a una nota de una tal Fernanda Serpa, activista de los derechos humanos en Amnistia Internacional.
Co€o! Ya me parecia que no podia ser yo el unico en considerar excesivas las condiciones de encarcelamiento de Kevin Mitnick. Por lo visto, Fernanda con algunos compa€eros de A.I. estan montando una campa€a a nivel mundial para exigir a las autoridades norteamericanas que se cumpla la ley en el caso de Mitnick.
Quien es Kevin Mitnick, y que porras hace en la carcel?
Kevin David Mitnick, nacido en Van nuys, California el
06/08/63. Arrestado el 15 de febrero de 1994 por la
supuesta violacion de los terminos de su libertad
condicional y acceso no autorizado a sistemas de
comunicacion entre otras acusaciones. Hoy se halla
detenido en el Metropolitan Detention Center de Los
Angeles, California (sin haber sido juzgado).
Quiza algunos se acuerden de su detencion, fue muy sonada y salio en todos los periodicos y en la television. La policia, y la prensa en general, lo describia como el "mayor delincuente informatico de la historia" y una amenaza que debia ser atajada a cualquier precio. La realidad es un poco distinta...
Es un hecho indiscutible el que Kevin accedio de forma ilegal a informacion en formato electronico. Es decir, hizo lo mismo que hacen a diario millones de webmasters (el que no me crea, que mire aqui), lo que hace cierta empresa de informatica muy conocida con el registro "on line" de su ultimo producto estrella, lo que se hace a diario con los cookies del Netscape y un largo y lamentable etcetera.
Como digo, es indiscutible el que Kevin cometio un delito; no obstante no es menos indiscutible el hecho de que su detencion fue realizada de forma ilegal, contrariando la Declaracion Universal de los Derechos Humanos (en especial los articulos V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI-1 y 2) asi como la Constitucin Norteamericana. La gran "caceria electronica" llevada a cabo contra Kevin dejo muy clara la tenue linea que separa los derechos constitucionales de privacidad del cumplimiento de la ley, que al parecer fue sistematicamente violada en nombre de la captura del "super criminal" Kevin.
Malos Tratos
Nadie debe ser privado de vida, libertad o propiedad sin un juicio justo.
Constitucion de los EEUU
Kevin ya vio sus derechos violados en su anterior detencion (tambien por delitos electronicos) en diciembre de 1988. Le fue negada la fianza a pesar de que la ley federal afirma que ello solo se podra hacer con aquellos delincuentes considerados peligrosos para la sociedad: "acusados de crimenes violentos, crimen capital, o crimen relacionado con drogas que incluya una sentencia de mas de diez a€os."
O sea, asesinos y traficantes son considerados menos peligrosos para la sociedad que Kevin. Claro esta que Kevin es un pringado (y encima judio) y no un O. J. Simpson...
Kevin cuenta en el libro El juego del fugitivo - En linea directa con Kevin Mitnick:
"Cumpli ocho meses en la solitaria del MDC (sic!). La
solitaria era un infierno. Decian que yo era demasiado
peligroso hasta para acercarme a un telefono. Solo me
dejaban salir durante una hora al dia y me esposaban para
ir al servicio, es igual que en las peliculas. Te tratan
como a un animal. Joden a la gente..."
Como esta Kevin ahora? No se sabe..., pero dado el trato indignante y desproporcionado que ha recibido antes, se puede uno temer lo peor.
Un hacker de la vieja guardia
Durante la gran caceria iniciada en noviembre de 1992 y que culmino con su detencion el 15 de febrero de 1994, Kevin siguio buscando empleo y haciendo chapuzas para sobrevivir. La motivacion de Kevin por la "pirateria electronica compulsiva" jamas ha sido el dinero. Nunca uso de forma criminal sus conocimientos. Kevin jamas incito o cometio actos de violencia. Kevin es un hacker. Segun la definicion de su biografo Jonathan Littman: "un hacker de la vieja guardia. Alguien que, con creatividad, persigue el conocimiento y la informacion."
Es decir, se trata de uno de esos locos de la informatica (al igual que Brian Kernigham, Linus Torvahlds, Richard Stallman, Steve Jobs o Bill Gates) que han hecho posible la revolucion informatica que hoy estamos viviendo. Sin gente como ellos, hoy no existiria internet, no habria ordenadores personales y no existiria el tratamiento informatizado de la informacion que ha cambiado nuestras vidas. Unos han tenido suerte, otros se han jodido...
Que puedes hacer?
Limpiad el salivazo que lleva en la mejilla y desencadenar el corazon del mundo, y detened las fauces de las voraces carceles donde el sol retrocede. Las Carceles Miguel Hernandez (Orihuela 1910 - Reformatorio de Adultos, Alicante 1942)
Si crees que hasta para tomar a alguien como cabeza de turco existen limites, si crees que el trato dado por el estado a Kevin es desproporcionado e indignante, puedes ayudarle.
Puedes escribir a la Secretaria de Justicia (equivalente a Ministerio de Justicia) de los Estados Unidos exigiendo un juicio justo y unas condiciones carcelarias dignas para Kevin. Su direccion es:
MS. JANET RENO United States Secretary of Justice Department of Justice 10th E. Constitution Ave, N.W., Room 4400 Washington, D.C. 20530
Tambien puedes escribirle a Kevin para darle animos (que falta le hace). Su direccin actual es:
Kevin Mitnick 89950-012 PO BOX 1500 UNIT A South Los Angeles, CA 90053-1500
Si lo prefieres, puedes enviarle un email a Kevin. Los de la revista 2600 Magazine se encargaran de hacerselo llegar.
Para mas informacion sobre el caso de Kevin, asi como otros similares, podeis mirar el web de la revista 2600 Magazine.
ADELANTE, HACK THE WORLD
RAREGAZZ, LA MEJOR RAZON PARA APRENDER A LEER... 10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)10:36, 21 January 2013 (CET)merce
raregazz 09. http://autistici.org/ezine/raregazz/raregazz-009.zip
