History - The Saga of Mitnik.

 
          

 When I decided to write a biography
Mitnik and began to collect materials, I
ran into a common problem with any
toric: sources contradict each other,
the dates don't match, even the names of the characters
allow for different interpretations (for example, who passed
Mitnick in 1989 to FBI agents by his friend
DiCicco goes by either Lenny or John).
Another, more subtle problem is the selection of fact-
products and their supply are largely wholesale
determined by the INTERPRETATION of the event and/or
the person in question. Through efforts
journalists, especially John Markoff, were
created very expressive and memorable
emerging IMAGE of our hero: autistic socio-
Pat with a puffy face, manically "van-
dissolving government, corporate
tive and university computer systems
topics" with the sole purpose of taking revenge on the
to the people who gave it and to all humanity -
another version of the "mad scientist"
go".  Many hackers opposed this
interpretation of Mitnik's personality. And he himself
It seems that he was far from delighted with her.
And how the press attacked our hero,
when he refused to give an interview for
free!  (It is known that Markoff and Shimo-
mura foryour book about how they were caught
Mitnik, received no less than $75
000;  There's also a movie planned! and computer
thorny game!) It is difficult to restore the real
picture of what happened based on the written
evidence, but even more difficult
construct its MEANING. That's why I try
I am only trying to systematically present the facts
(including the facts of interpretation); far-
The most important thing is up to the reader. And to all this is-
I was attracted to another side hus-
ment: Mitnik and I were born in the same year.
So I looked at him willy-nilly
history as a virtual version of one’s own
no fate.  No, I'm not talking about here
identification. Between us there is at least
At least one important difference: I'm writing about Mitney
ke, but he’s unlikely to write about me.

   So, Kevin D. Mitnick was born in 1964 in
orth Hills, USA. Kevin's parents divorced
when he was three years old, giving him black
one that is typical for many hackers: from
father's presence.  He lived in Los Angeles with
mother who worked as a waitress and
I didn’t spend much time with my child.
(Further - interpretation: not surprising,
that Kevin preferred the real world, quite
indifferent to him, the virtual world, in
which alone he found freedom and
power). At the age that is generally accepted
call it transitional, some start writing
poems, others run away from home. Kevin too
ran away - tocountry of computer networks. And
became a kind of poet - a virtuoso hakin-
ha.

   He accomplished his first hacker feat.
sewed when he was 16, infiltrating the administration
nistrative system of the school in which he
studied.  A characteristic touch: he did not become
change ratings, although he could have done so. For
something else was more important to him - the very fact that he
can do it.  Well, his admiration
friends-hackers, the same teenagers from Los
-Angeles outskirts, like himself. Basic
their other entertainment consisted of various
yes telephone pranks. (They could, for example
example, attribute to someone's home
phone status as a payphone, and every time
when the owner picked up the phone, recorded on
a voice said to the film: “Lower it, please.”
Please, twenty cents.") First skirmish
Kevin's brush with the law happened in 1981 when
he hacked a computer system as a joke
North American Air Defense
We're in Colorado. He was 17 then.

   He was unusually greedy for knowledge -
especially those related to telephone
switching  (He went to university, unlike
from me, he didn’t do it - so the whole
life and remained an autodidact.) Ugly
telephone companies kept useful information
formation under cover, and Mitnik had to
get into corporate computers
Pacific Bell to get textbooks
via COSMOS and MicroPort, andit is also necessary
smoky software.  Him and his whole company
were soon arrested (their friend turned him in)
one of the members of the "gang"). Mitnick was sentenced
by three months at the Los Angeles Center
re-education of minors and a year of probation.
He quickly violated the conditions of his release,
hacking into the computer system of the local university
university (more precisely, he simply used
used the university computer for
unauthorized access from pentago-
Novsky APRAnet network), for which he received
six months in prison, which became his
a real university.  By the time
when he left there he knew about the job
the world's largest computer network (television
background system) as much as the best
specialists at Bell Labs. He learned to create
give toll-free numbers, call from someone else's
numbers, disconnect lines at will and
eavesdrop on any conversations. In the hacker's room
among others he was known by the nickname "Con-
Dor", taken from Coppola's film, where Ro-
Burt Redford plays a man hiding...
from the CIA, using his manipulative skills
operate the telephone system. And for telephone -
company became James Bond - from nothing
where the unaccounted number that ended -
with the numbers 007.

   Throughout the 80s Mitnik honed
their skills by playing telephone and
computer practical jokes (including
and with his friends), and successfully evaded
frommeetings with authorities. He settled in a
Californian town of Thousand Oaks with de-
the girl I met on the computer
tern courses at summer school. But calm
life did not last long.  In December
1987 Mitnick was arrested again - this year
once on charges of computer theft
programs from Santa Cruz Operation; sentence
- 3 years probation. But not even a year has passed since
followed by a new arrest - for theft of private
computer code from research
Laboratories Digital Equipment Corp. in Palo
Alta.  It’s interesting that it was Mitnik who turned him in
friend and fellow hacker Lenny
DiCicco, with whom they have been dating for more than a year,
shawls night attacks on Digital computers
Equipment, trying to copy the operation from there
rational VMS system. They say that when
FBI agents caught Mitnik in a multi-story
garage parking (scenery - pure Goal-
leewood!), Mitnick asked DiCicco: "Why
did you do it?" - "Because you are a threat
for society,” he allegedly replied.

   The court used similar language
having rejected the request for the release of Mit-
nickname on bail. The assistant prosecutor stated:
"This man is very dangerous and needs to be
keep away from the computer." And the boss
Department of Computer Crimes of the Los
-Angeles Police Detective James M.
Black literally said the following: "He's on
several orders of magnitude higherwhat is characteristic
looks like an ordinary hacker." He was given a year in
a low-security prison, from which
he spent seven months in solitary confinement.
In addition, Judge Mariana P. Pfelzer
gave him a compulsory six-month sentence
course of treatment for "computer addiction"
ty", rightly believing that the hacker,
hacking capabilities will be tested
cause severe psychological withdrawals.
Federal prosecutors also achieved
so that Mitnik would be limited in the use of technology
lefon - in fear that he could somehow
way to gain access to an external computer
teru.  Characterizing the psychology of your pa-
patient, director of rehabilitation service
Harriet Rosetto emphasized the compensator-
the nature of his passion: “Hacking gives
Kevin's sense of self-respect
missing in real life. Greed and
the desire to harm has nothing to do with it... He
like a big child playing "Darkness"
tsy and dragons." However, as
conditions of release from it in 1990
demanded that he no longer touch
went to the computer and modem.

   He was released on probation and
assigned an inspector to supervise him
behind his behavior. And then things started to happen
strange things... Phone number of his "supervisor"
suddenly switched off by itself, to the great
to my surprise, nothing about that te-
phone company.  Oncredit account
God knows what happened to the judges. And from
The computers of the court in Santa Cruz have all disappeared
some mentions of Mitnik’s arrest and subsequent
the verdict... (In addition, I agreed
but one source, Mitnik soon violated
recognizance not to leave the place and flew to Israel
see your hacker friends.)

   In general, Mitnik worked calmly, for-
doing research and giving paid
consultations. He began to lead a healthy lifestyle
life and by June 1992 had lost 100 pounds (about
about 45 kilograms). His face lost
earthy puffiness characteristic of
children of the computer dungeon.  He even
became a vegetarian... But then his brother died
(likely from an overdose of heroin), and Mitnik
lost it again. In September 1992, the FBI semi-
a search warrant was issued for Mitnik's apartment in
Calabasas, California. He suspects
was involved, in particular, in unauthorized
penetration into Californian computers
Department of Motor Vehicles, which
accused him of causing $1 million in damages.
(He did this very simply: he gave himself away
for a policeman and got his hands on a ku-
a lot of secret information, including water
body license along with photographs.)
The authorities also believed that Mitnik had
hand in hacking the Army computer system,
and also penetrated the FBI files. But
they were most interested in who was leadingeavesdropping on employee telephone conversations
from the security department at Pacific
Bell".  Mitnik didn’t like these questions.
They fell and he ran.

   In November, Mitnik was declared a federal
ral search.  But it's like through the earth
failed. The FBI believed he was a fabricator
gave himself a whole series of identification documents,
that with his skills it was, in general, once
spit.  (Who doesn't understand what we're talking about?
speech, watch the film "Network".) There was even
a person was arrested, mistakenly accepted by the authorities
tyami for Mitnik. But it wasn't him. For two
For over a year, Mitnik disappeared.























 Signs of its existence began to emerge
rise to the surface somewhere in the middle
1994. Motorola reported that
someone copied a program from their computer
framework that allows control
establish cellular communications. Dan Farmer, created
body of the sensational SATAN (Security
Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks)
program that searches for "holes" in computer
systems, said that the burglar stole
an early version of his brainchild.  The technique of these
attacks, according to the FBI, were characterized by
but for Mitnick.

   In July, police visited Las Vegas
with Kevin's grandparents, hoping to please
steal them so that they force their
grandson to come to his senses.  His grandmother said
that he is very afraid of imprisonment.
The eight months he served in
alone, he felt terrible. One-
to the request to influence Kevin, they responded
they thought it was beyond their strength.

   The authorities almost caught up with Mitnik in
October, investigating McCaw Cellular complaintsCommunication Inc. that the cracker was stolen
til serial electronic numbers of cell phones
telephone numbers of this company.  When the police
broke into Mitnick's apartment in Seattle,
where he lived under an assumed name, she
found several cell phones, textbooks
ki outlining the procedure for duplicating new
measures and a scanner with which Mit-
Nick probably monitored the operations of the police
tions to capture him. It turned out that the last
For three months he lived not far from Va-
Shington University and worked at
local hospital computer technician.

   "In Seattle he led a completely harmless
life," a federal prosecutor said.
Ivan Optmah, who also provided the name
Roe used by Mitnick - Brian Merrill.
"It was very quiet, completely ordinary
person," said Sherry Scott, secretary
department in which Mitnik worked. - He
never talked about his personal life.
He just came and did his business
scrap."

   And now we come to the climax
moment in our history. December 25, 1994
yes, on Christmas night, Mitnik invaded
to Tsutomu Shimomura's home computer -
leading American expert on
computer security, known in
in particular, with its developments to prevent
increasing intrusions into computer systems.
Later, many said that Mitnik was simply
no luck - he chose forno attacks
that person.  Others believe that Mit-
Nick, possessed by a kind of megalomania,
simply went too far.  The third one is also interesting.
point of view expressed by the reviewer
"Time" Joshua Kittner: Mitnik is tired
to be a boy lost in Cyberspace
early, and unconsciously wanted him
finally caught.

   Be that as it may, events developed
yes. On Christmas Day, when Shimomura went to
vacation to go skiing in Nevada,
someone (we already know who) got in
into his super secure home computer
Solana Beach, California, and started copying
his files are hundreds of classified files.
One master's student from the Supercomputer Center
in San Diego, where Shimomura worked, noticed
changes in system "log" (log)
files and quickly realized what was happening.
(All this turned out to be possible thanks to
mu that Shimomura installed on his computer
ter program that automatically copies
"journal" entries on a backup computer
ter in San Diego.) The student called Shim-
re, and he rushed home to spend
inventory of stolen goods. While he broke
was wondering what was what, the offender inflicted something new on him
insult. On December 27 he sent Shimo-
Mure audio message where computer-
- a distorted voice said: “You are an asshole
(Damn you). My technique is the best...
Don't you know whoI... Me and my friends
sons... We will kill you." And as if second-
a swarm of voices in the background chimed in: “Exactly-
but boss, your kung fu is very cool" (sarcastically)
(an allusion to Shimomura's nationality).

   A touchy samurai known for his ri-
pride and hatred of “bad manners”,
vowed to take revenge on the offender who inflicted
him a personal insult, and put him under
the question is his reputation as a specialist. For
this is what he set out to reconstruct
complete picture of the incident and understand how
you can catch the "looter" using the wasp
the electronic traces he left behind.

   Without going into detail, attack technique
on Shimomura's computer it was like this. In the beginning
hacker broke into a "friendly" computer
at Layola University in Chicago. "Friendly-
"Venial" means that this computer
had permission to access files on the computer
Tere Shimomura in California.  The whole trick
was to falsify the
the entry address of the system from which the pa-
keta on Shimomur's computer, that Mit-
Nick did it successfully.

   The attack was carried out with extraordinary skill
- after all, Mitnik had to work after-
I'm farting.  It is known that when the system receives
package, she sends it to the computer-sending-
tel message confirming receipt.
Not being able to see these messages
(after all, they arrived at the computer where it
supposedly was), Mitnik was able, however
less,unravel the numbers in sequence
ey and, thereby, attribute the corresponding
The corresponding numbers for further sent packets.
(The theoretical possibility of this was
predicted by Steve Bellovin of Bell Labs
back in 1989, however Mitnick's attack is the first
famous case of using this technique
in practice.)

   By downloading Shimomura's files (in particular,
computer security software
danger), Mitnik transferred them to safety
active account in The Well - California
nian company providing access to
Internet.

   When Shimomura figured out that
happened, he talked about the used
cracker technology at a conference in Cohome,
California and also made public
technical details of the attack.  He always
was a supporter of open discussion of exclusion
new in systems, although many believed that
it only encourages hackers. CERT (Computer
Emergency Response Team) sent out throughout the
these messages, warning system administrators that
a similar problem can happen to
them, and called on them to be vigilant. Shimomu-
immediately switched to installing
find out who exactly hacked his system.

   January 27 system operator The Well
drew attention to the unusually large number
quality of data on the account, which is usually
was almost empty.  He contacted one of
account holders Bruce Coball, pro-rammist from Computers, Freedom and
Privacy Group. Koball was shocked to see
I have Shimomura's files, and soon called
to him. (Technicians from The Well later discovered
another dozen accounts used by hackers
rum - mostly "sleeping" where he
kept the information he stole.) Then,
when files were found on Koball's account
with passwords and codes from many companies, including
tea more than 20 thousand credit card numbers
check stolen from NetCom INC. (one more
online service provider), the game includes
Federal authorities were in charge. The FBI compiled
list of suspects, and Mitnik was on it
one of the first on the list. Firstly, hacking
Shimorovsky computer was, throughout
appearance, "show of force" and not pres-
explored monetary goals. Secondly, the hacker
adhered to the rule of not storing data,
who can expose him, on their own
own car.  The main tip
turned out to be program files for manipulating
using a cell phone. "Cellular phone codes"
backgrounds intrigued us, said Shimomu-
ra, - because we knew that Kevin was
I want them."

   To somehow stir up a person,
invading his system, Shimomura dis-
Lal'ed on newsgroups a recording of his voice in
as an audio file. The bait worked -
another one came to Shimomura's answering machine
mocking message: "Ah, Tsutomu, my
educated student, I see you sent out
over the network my voice... I'm very upset, son
my..."

   Shimomura installed a round-shaped
daily monitoring, allowing you to detect
any unusual activity. With the help of
mands of assistants from the FBI and National
security agencies he patiently monitors
lived all the actions of the hacker and the route that
ry passed his computer messages. Would-
It has been established that the hacker in many cities
dah used public computers, which
which give the user the opportunity to obtain
gain access to the system without paying for international
city connection.  As a springboard for our own
attacks he used NetCom. Analyzing the
type of messages and traffic intensity in
different places, Shimomura came to the conclusion that
that the hacker is somewhere in the airport area
port of Durheim near the city of Raleigh in North
Noah Caroline.  Federal agents spotted
for Shimomura telephone connection in Raleykha,
but it turned out that the line was jammed again and again
turns on itself, as if having no beginning.
However, the search area turned out to be possible
can be narrowed down to a two-kilometer zone.

   On February 12, Shimomura flew to Raleigh
(as they wrote in the newspapers, "forgetting in a hurry -
special socks"). Tracking group
Mitnik, which he headed, included
federal agents, engineers from Sprint
Cellular, as well as a well-known journalist from
New York Times JohnMarkoff, author
book "Cyberpunk" (co-written by
ve with his then-wife Katie Hefner),
dedicated to Mitnik and other hackers. (Himself
Markoff later admitted that he shared with Shi-
momura information about Mitnik's habits,
but denied that he was part of the search team
du, insisting that he acted
just as a reporter.) The patrol group
tore the streets in cars equipped with
device for intercepting cellular frequencies
phones.   Fearing that Mitnick might
eavesdrop on messages exchanged
the police were calling, Shimomura insisted
ensuring that all search team radios in
area of the Players Club, a place in which, as
they believed that the object of their search was located,
were disabled. This precaution will
was not in vain... In the end, Mit-
Nick was spotted.

   Late in the evening of February 14, in Valenti-
new day, federal judge Wallace Dixon
signed a search warrant for apartment 202 in
Player Club, which Mitnik filmed from the beginning
la February, using the name Glenn Thomas
Case.  February 15, at 1.30 am, when Shi-
Momura determined that Mitnick had reached
connection, agents knocked on the door. Via
a few minutes Mitnik opened the door and was
arrested.

When Shimomura and Mitnik first met
came face to face at the preliminary trial
debate hearing in Raleigh, Mitnik looked
on Shimomuraand said: “Hello, Tsutomu.
I respect your skill."  Shimomura in
the answer did not say a word and only arrogantly
but nodded.

   Later, in an interview, Shimomura stated:
"From what I've seen, he doesn't seem to me
such a great specialist." And he added:
"The problem isn't Kevin, the problem is
most systems are really bad
protected.  What Mitnik did remains
feasible even now." Shimomura doesn't particularly
strongly resists when they try to
imagine a hero defeating a villain,
bringing terror to the inhabitants of the Cyberspace
wounds.  But what Mitnik left for co-
fight the traces by which he could be caught,
seems to him a manifestation of bad taste. By
in his words, the only feeling that
he feels towards Mitnik, -
it's a pity. "It seems to me that the authorities could-
I wish I could do something more elegant,
rather than just putting him behind bars."

   Mitnik, nevertheless, was imprisoned. Infor-
mation about this period of his life is very
scarce, which is not at all surprising. With one
sides, a story about prison routine, of course
but it cannot compare in terms of entertainment
connection with the story of the hunt for humans
ka (it’s like in love stories - who cares)
It's interesting to read about what happened after
weddings?) On the other hand, the severity itself
prison regime (more on this below) is not
favors the free flow of information.Thirdly, people who make a day at Mitnik -
gi, painting him as a monster and a maniac (I have
referring primarily to Shimomura and Markoff,
who are now traveling around America, rec-
laminating their book), are concerned that
continue to make money, and the powerless order-
hatched, beaten by cellmates, badly
fits into the image of the persona they created
pressing (Mitnik himself never gained popularity
Yes, I didn’t try and became a “superstar”
involuntarily.) Therefore, all the facts cited
The following are taken from the only source
- books by Jonathan Littman "The Fugitive
Game: Online With Kevin Mitnick" which
forthcoming from Little Publishing House
Brown and parts of which have been published
at alt. 2600.moderate.

   Jonathan Littman - journalist, support
who had contact with Mitnik when he was "in
run" and saved it when Mitnik
stuck in a place where it’s not easy to escape. "Mit-
Nick wrote to me almost every week on the
that official paper, listing their
prison hardships and complaining about the lack
word processor," says Littman.
These letters are replete with characteristic internet-
com abbreviations;  at the beginning of each
indicates the exact time when Mitnik started
write a letter - as if he was still finding-
Xia online. As Littman notes, although
Mitnik has not lost his sense of humor, in his
jokes feel bitter.For example, when
prison authorities admitted that they
read Mike Wallace's letter, where he
invites Mitnick to appear on television
program "60 Minutes", Mitnick remarked:
"Poetic justice, eh?.."
   To be continued in the next issue.