THE
HACKERS AND HACKS
The Term
Hacker Is Not Always Applied As It Should Be. In The Hacking Community In
Particular, There Can Be Stark Divisions Between Hackers -- People Immensely
Skilled At Navigating Computer Systems And Diagnosing Security Flaws -- And
Crackers -- Those Who Use Their Hacking Knowledge For Malicious Gain. This Same
Dichotomy Is Sometimes Represented By The Terms White Hat And Black Hat.
Hackers A Group That Consists Of Skilled Computer
Enthusiasts.
A Black Hat
Hacker Is Someone On The Outside Who Would Break Into A System In Order To
Cause Damage Or For Financial Gain .
A White Hat Hacker, For Example, May Be Someone
Hired By A Company To Break Into Its Computer Network In Order To Find
Vulnerabilities.
10.KEVIN MITNICK
Kevin Mitnick Top Most World Hackersthe
Department Of Justice Describes Him As “The Most Wanted Computer Criminal .In
United States History.” His Exploits Were Detailed In Two Movies: Freedom
Downtime And Takedown.
Not all hackers break the law and even fewer become
the targets of FBI manhunts. But Kevin Mitnick was jailed twice -- first in
1988, and then, after a plea bargain, from 1995 until 2000. For three years, he
wasn't allowed to the use the Internet.
He managed to send and receive e-mail by having his
girlfriend do all the clicking and typing; Mitnick just watched the screen.
He started outexploiting the Los Angeles bus punch
card system to get free rides. Then, like Apple co-founder Steve Woznia.dabbled
in phone phreaking. Although there were numerous offenses, Mitnick was
ultimately convicted for breakinginto the Digital Equipment Corpora,ion’s
computer network and stealing software.
Since regaining his computer privileges, he has
started his own security-consulting firm, in addition to making rounds on the public
speaking circuit.
9.KEVIN POULSEN
Like Kevin Mitnick,
Kevin Poulsen was hunted by the FBI and was the subject of a book "The
Watchman: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Serial Hacker Kevin Poulsen"
chronicling his hacking exploits. And like Mitnick, Poulsen eventually went
straight, giving up hacking.
Poulsen worlds best hacker Also known as Dark Dante, While still a child, he learned how to whistle into a payphone in
order to get free calls (he channeled the sound through his braces). He hacked
a radio station's phone lines in order to win a call-in contest whose prize was
a Porsche.
Later, when his photo came up on the show Unsolved Mysteries,
Later, when his photo came up on the show Unsolved Mysteries,
, 1-800 phone lines for the program crashed.
Ultimately, Poulsen was captured in a supermarketand served a sentence of five
years.Since serving time, Poulsen has worked as a journalist. He is now a
senior editor for Wired News.
8. ADRIAN LAMO
Earlier on in his
hacking career, Adrian Lamo was something of a good Samaritan, known by the
moniker "the homeless hacker" because he sometimes took up residence
in abandoned buildings.
As a hacker, Lamo broke into the networks of a
number of major companies -- Excite@Home, MCI WorldCom, Yahoo, Microsoft and
Google -- but he often contacted the companies and told them about the security
holes. In some cases, he also helped them fix these holes without accepting any
compensation.
He finally got into trouble when he hacked into The
New York Times -- from a computer at a Kinko's -- in 2003. He found a trove of
information there, including personal details on thousands of people who had
written for the paper, including celebrities and ex-presidents. To avoid jail
time, he negotiated a plea bargain that included six months of house arrest.
Lamo was
diagnosed with Asperger's, an autism-spectrum disorder commonly associated with
people of high intelligence who have difficulty socializing.
Lamo is currently working as an award-winning
journalist and public speaker.