Hacking guru and security
consultant, Kevin Mitnick enthralls
CeBIT 2015 audience with live hacks
Well known hacker and now a security
consultant enthralled the audience at
CeBIT 2015 by presenting three live hacks.
Kevin Mitnick who once found the spot on
the FBI’s Most Wanted list for his hacking
skills and underwent prison sentence for
the same, is now a well known security
consultant. Kevin and his team have been
on the roster of several big tech firms
including Fortune 500 ones, and boasts of
a 100 percent success rate in finding the
weaknesses in their cyber defences.
Mitnick demonstrated a range of
impressive hacks live on the CeBIT stage.
He gained full control of targeted
machines through use of weaponised USB
drives, Wi-Fi access points, PDF files and
more, as well as cloning wireless keycards
that many companies use for building
access, all within 15 minutes.
Kevin said in his address to the fascinated
CeBIT 2015 crowd that he never used
exploits or software 0-days to hack into
the web defences. Instead he relied on a
method called social engineering. Social
engineering is a method to target the
weakest link in the cyber defences of any
company, its cyber security team. Kevin
says that instead of relying on the exploits
and vulnerabilities it is much easier to
target low level and less tech-savvy
employees and gain access to the system.
Kevin who’s visiting card includes a fully
functional lock-picking kit, has made
hacking a full fledged career. He earned
his title of ‘most famous hacker’ in 1990s
when he entered the FBI’s most wanted
cyber criminal list. He was awarded a two
year prison period for hacking into some of
world’s most formidable tech companies
and websites like North American Air
Defence Command.
Upon his release he again was back to his
favourite game, hacking and again the law
caught up with him, only this time his
prison sentence was 5 years. In 1999, as
part of a deal, he pled guilty to four counts
of wire fraud, two counts of computer
fraud and one count of illegally
intercepting communications. The prison
sentence included eight months in solitary
confinement because a federal judge
believed he could “whistle tones into a
phone and launch a nuclear missile.”
Now aged 51, Kevin concedes that he
hacked into computers belonging to
companies like Motorola, Nokia and Sun
Microsystems “for the pursuit of knowledge
and adventure” and not for personal profit
or to cause any meaningful harm.
These days, Mitnick is a highly paid and
successful security consultant to some of
the world’s largest companies including
FedEx, Toshiba, CBS, IBM and Lockheed
Martin. “My primary business is doing
penetration testing,” he said. “We test the
physical security, the technical security,
the people. We test their wireless
networks, their VOIP phones. We test
everything across the board to look for
vulnerabilities so our clients can fix them.”
And CeBIT hacks prove that the worlds
most famous hacker hasnt lost his touch.
consultant, Kevin Mitnick enthralls
CeBIT 2015 audience with live hacks
Well known hacker and now a security
consultant enthralled the audience at
CeBIT 2015 by presenting three live hacks.
Kevin Mitnick who once found the spot on
the FBI’s Most Wanted list for his hacking
skills and underwent prison sentence for
the same, is now a well known security
consultant. Kevin and his team have been
on the roster of several big tech firms
including Fortune 500 ones, and boasts of
a 100 percent success rate in finding the
weaknesses in their cyber defences.
Mitnick demonstrated a range of
impressive hacks live on the CeBIT stage.
He gained full control of targeted
machines through use of weaponised USB
drives, Wi-Fi access points, PDF files and
more, as well as cloning wireless keycards
that many companies use for building
access, all within 15 minutes.
Kevin said in his address to the fascinated
CeBIT 2015 crowd that he never used
exploits or software 0-days to hack into
the web defences. Instead he relied on a
method called social engineering. Social
engineering is a method to target the
weakest link in the cyber defences of any
company, its cyber security team. Kevin
says that instead of relying on the exploits
and vulnerabilities it is much easier to
target low level and less tech-savvy
employees and gain access to the system.
Kevin who’s visiting card includes a fully
functional lock-picking kit, has made
hacking a full fledged career. He earned
his title of ‘most famous hacker’ in 1990s
when he entered the FBI’s most wanted
Also Read:
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year prison period for hacking into some of
world’s most formidable tech companies
and websites like North American Air
Defence Command.
Upon his release he again was back to his
favourite game, hacking and again the law
caught up with him, only this time his
prison sentence was 5 years. In 1999, as
part of a deal, he pled guilty to four counts
of wire fraud, two counts of computer
fraud and one count of illegally
intercepting communications. The prison
sentence included eight months in solitary
confinement because a federal judge
believed he could “whistle tones into a
phone and launch a nuclear missile.”
Now aged 51, Kevin concedes that he
hacked into computers belonging to
companies like Motorola, Nokia and Sun
Microsystems “for the pursuit of knowledge
and adventure” and not for personal profit
or to cause any meaningful harm.
These days, Mitnick is a highly paid and
successful security consultant to some of
the world’s largest companies including
FedEx, Toshiba, CBS, IBM and Lockheed
Martin. “My primary business is doing
penetration testing,” he said. “We test the
physical security, the technical security,
the people. We test their wireless
networks, their VOIP phones. We test
everything across the board to look for
vulnerabilities so our clients can fix them.”
And CeBIT hacks prove that the worlds
most famous hacker hasnt lost his touch.
Source - tech hack
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