Once the world’s most wanted hacker, Kevin Mitnick now helps companies combat attacks

ONCE the FBI’s most wanted hacker, Kevin Mitnick now safeguards companies against cyber attacks. He spoke to news.com.au about his new life.

Kevin Mitnick, computer hacker and cyber criminal. General / Alone

IF HACKERS were rock stars, Kevin Mitnick would be Mick Jagger.

During the early 90s, he became the world’s most wanted hacker after breaking into the computer systems of 40 major corporations, stealing corporate secrets and scrambling phone networks.

He was also suspected of hacking the national defence warning system and wire-tapping the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This notoriety led to him being placed on the FBI’s most wanted list.

Despite being the target of a nationwide investigation, Mitnick was able to elude law enforcement for a number of years.

You need to be a serious criminal to warrant one of these.

In the end, it was fellow computer expert, Tsutomu Shimomura, that managed to track him down.

With their man clearly in the sights, the FBI pounced and arrested Mitnick in an apartment complex in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 1995, he was charged with wire fraud, interception of wire or electronic communications, possession of unauthorised access devices, unauthorised access to a federal computer and causing damage to a computer.

Then, some four years later, he cut a deal and pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud, two counts of computer fraud and one count of illegally intercepting communications.

He was released from federal prison in 2000 after five years behind bars.

“When I was a hacker my motivation was curiosity, pursuit of knowledge and seduction of adventure,” he told news.com.au.

“I never did this to steal money or anything like that. It was to get information and to play cat and mouse with government, which was insane to do, but I did it anyway.”

Tsutomu Shimomura, the man responsible for his downfall.

Mitnick enters the U.S. Courthouse after his arrest.

Now, Mitnick is using his skills for good and he is the CEO and chief white hat hacker at Mitnick Security.

Operating one of the most advanced boutique security firms has made this ex-con a trusted security consultant to the Fortune 500 and governments worldwide.

He is also a leader cyber security public speaker and has three published books, including one New York Times bestseller.

“It’s kind of like Pablo Escobar becoming a pharmacist,” he joked.

While transitioning to the other side of the law, it appears Mitnick hasn’t lost his lust for criminal behaviour.

This becomes apparent when looking at his stainless steel business card that doubles as a fully functional lock-picking kit.

“It actually works, which makes it a great marketing tool because people don’t throw it away,” he said.

Mitnick’s infamous business card.

As for cybercrime, Mitnick said it is on the increase because it has become so profitable.

“Sophisticated attackers sitting in third world countries making $300 a month can commit cybercrime and make millions of dollars,” he said.

“Even if they are caught they are not going to be extradited, so it’s very attractive.”

Mitnick said free and commercially available products have also made it easier for hackers to compromise computer systems.

“Back in the 1990s, when I was what we called a black hat hacker, we didn’t have these tools,” he said.

“We had to write them ourselves, we had to do a lot of manual stuff.

“In those days security wasn’t much of a concern for companies, so it was much easier.

“Fast forward to 2015 and companies are very security aware and they are trying to mitigate their risks, but at the same time all the tools out there to exploit security are freely available to 10-year-old.”

Today, Mitnick is happily working on the other side of the law.

The infamous hacker said “social engineering” is responsible for a lot of attacks these days.

“Social engineering is using manipulation, deception and influence to get a target to comply with a request to either release information or do some action,” he said.

Mitnick said social engineering used a two-pronged approach to infiltrate networks.

“The con is getting the victim to click the link,” he said.

“Once they click the link, it has to go to some site or they have to open up some application that exploits the vulnerability of the software on their desktop.”

The 51-year-old said the White House hacks in 2014 were a classic example of hackers using social engineering to gain access to internal networks.

“Attackers got into the state department using social engineering through a phishing email,” he said.

“Once they hacked into the state department, they were able to worm their way into the White House network because they must have had an extranet.”

While Mitnick admits there are a number of precautions you can take to protect your data, he has some bad news.

“In my experience everything is hackable,” he said.

“Everything I have seen out there can be broken, it just depends on time and recourses.”