There are two
types of hackers. First, you’ve got the kind that is so often portrayed by
Hollywood as an anti-social nerd with a chip on his shoulder out to dominate
the cyberworld by breaking into secure networks and messing things up. Second,
you’ve got the kind of people who just enjoy fiddling around with software
source code and hardware gigs.
That’s right.
The term “hacker” originally referred to the second type, which held absolutely
no malevolent connotations. Only recently has the term been used to refer
primarily to criminal masterminds. There are good hackers and bad hackers!
Nowadays, benevolent hackers are often called “white hats” while the more
sinister are called “black hats.”
In this
article, I’ll be talking specifically about famous hackers that don hats of
black. Here are five of the most widely known black hatters and what happened
to them for their recklessness.
Jonathan
James was known as “c0mrade” on the Internet. What is his ticket to fame? He
was convicted and sent to prison for hacking in the United States–all while he
was still a minor. At only fifteen years of age, he managed to hack into a
number of networks, including those belonging to Bell South, Miami-Dade, the
U.S. Department of Defense, and NASA.
Yes, James
hacked into NASA’s network and downloaded enough source code to learn how the
International Space Station worked. The total value of the downloaded assets
equaled $1.7 million. To add insult to injury, NASA had to shut down their
network for three whole weeks while they investigated the breach, which cost
them $41,000.
The story of
James has a tragic ending, however. In 2007, a number of high profile companies
fell victim to a massive wave of malicious network attacks. Even though James
denied any involvement, he was suspected and investigated. In 2008, James
committed suicide, believing he would be convicted of crimes that he did not
commit.
Kevin
Mitnick’s journey as a computer hacker has been so interesting and compelling
that the U.S. Department of Justice called him the “most wanted computer
criminal in U.S. history.” His story is so wild that it was the basis for two
featured films.
What did he
do? After serving a year in prison for hacking into the Digital Equipment
Corporation’s network, he was let out for 3 years of supervised release. Near
the end of that period, however, he fled and went on a 2.5-year hacking spree
that involved breaching the national defense warning system and stealing
corporate secrets.
Mitnick was
eventually caught by Tshutomu Shimomura and convicted, ending with a 5-year prison sentence. After
serving those years fully, he became a consultant and public speaker for
computer security. He now runs Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC.
Albert
Gonzalez paved his way to Internet fame when he collected over 170 million
credit card and ATM card numbers over a period of 2 years. Yep. That’s equal to
a little over halfthe population of the United States.
Gonzalez
started off as the leader of a hacker group known as ShadowCrew. This group
would go on to steal 1.5 million credit card numbers and sell them online for
profit. ShadowCrew also fabricated fraudulent passports, health insurance
cards, and birth certificates for identity theft crimes totaling $4.3 million
stolen.
The big bucks
wouldn’t come until later, when Gonzalez hacked into the databases of TJX
Companies and Heartland Payment Systems for their stored credit card numbers.
In 2010, Gonzalez was sentenced to prison for 20 years (2 sentences of 20 years
to be served out simultaneously).
Kevin
Poulsen, also known as “Dark Dante,” gained his fifteen minutes of fame by
utilizing his intricate knowledge of telephone systems. At one point, he hacked
a radio station’s phone lines and fixed himself as the winning caller, earning
him a brand new Porsche. According to media, he was called the “Hannibal Lecter
of computer crime.”
He then
earned his way onto the FBI’s wanted list when he hacked into federal systems
and stole wiretap information. Funny enough, he was later captured in a
supermarket and sentenced to 51 months in prison, as well paying $56,000 in
restitution.
Like Kevin
Mitnick, Poulsen changed his ways after being released from prison. He began
working as a journalist and is now a senior editor for Wired News. At one
point, he even helped law enforcement to identify 744 sex offenders on MySpace.
Gary McKinnon
was known by his Internet handle, “Solo.” Using that name, he coordinated what
would become the largest military computer hack of all time. The allegations
are that he, over a 13-month period from February 2001 to March 2002, illegally
gained access to 97 computers belonging to the U.S. Armed Forces and NASA.
McKinnon
claimed that he was only searching for information related to free energy
suppression and UFO activity cover-ups. But according to U.S. authorities, he
deleted a number of critical files, rendering over 300 computers inoperable and
resulting in over $700,000 in damages.
Being of
Scottish descent and operating out of the United Kingdom, McKinnon was able to dodge
the American government for a time. As of today, he continues to fight against
extradition to the United States.
Now, do you
know any famous hackers who should be in this hall of infamy? Put his (or her)
name down in the comments.
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