December 19, 2001: Computer Hacking - Kevin Mitnick
Podcast: The Art Bell ArchivePublished On: Sat Feb 01 2025
Description: Art Bell interviews Kevin Mitnick, widely regarded as the world's most famous computer hacker, in his first appearance on the program after years of listener requests. Mitnick traces his fascination with technology back to age 16, when he and friends physically entered a Pacific Bell facility and walked out with technical manuals, with a security guard helping carry them to the car. He describes his hacking motivation as purely intellectual curiosity about how systems work, not malicious intent or financial gain.Mitnick addresses several myths surrounding his case, including the false New York Times report that he broke into NORAD and a prosecutor's claim that he could launch nuclear missiles by whistling into a telephone. Despite these exaggerations, a federal judge held him in solitary confinement for eight months and he ultimately served four and a half years as a pretrial detainee. The government attributed $300 million in damages by simply tallying the research and development costs of source code he accessed.The conversation turns to broader security concerns, including a phone company back door system called SAS that allowed remote wiretapping without court orders, and the FBI's Magic Lantern program, a government-developed Trojan horse capable of logging every keystroke on a target's computer.
The note was deleted
The note was saved
Your message was sent