See the fascinating stories of the 10 best and most famous hackers in the world, as well as what they have become now.
Δεν είναι όλοι οι hacker εξ ορισμού κακοί. Θα μπορούσαμε να τους χωρίζαμε σε τρεις κατηγορίες, αναλόγως με το πραγματικό σκοπό των πράξεων τους. Όσοι χρησιμοποιούν το hacking για να βελτιώσουν την ασφάλεια ενός υπολογιστή ή ενός δικτύου ονομάζονται White-hat hacker (λευκό καπέλο) ή Ethical hacker ή αν θέλετε ηθικοί hacker. Αυτοί που απλά διασκεδάζουν, ονομάζονται "Gray-Hat hackers" (γκρι καπέλο).
Όσο αναφορά για το κακόβουλο είδος των hackers που έχουν σα σκοπό την ζημιά για το κέρδος, αυτοί ονομάζονται "Black hat hackers" (μαύρο καπέλο). Παρά το ότι είναι οι καλύτεροι σε αυτό που κάνουν, μπορούν να προκαλέσουν μεγάλα προβλήματα, όπως άλλωστε έχει δείξει και η ιστορία.
See the Top ten of the most notorious malicious hackers, what they did to gain their reputation and where they are today.
1. Kevin Mitnick
Top of the world list of hackers is Kevin Mitnick. The US Department of Justice has named him "the most wanted computer criminal in US history". The story of Kevin Mitnick is so incredible that it was the basis for a movie called Track Down.
What did he do?
After serving a one-year prison sentence for hacking into the Digital Equipment Corporation network, he was released free με τρία χρόνια υπό επιτήρηση. Όμως, κοντά στο τέλος αυτής της περιόδου, δεν έκαστε φρόνιμα και κατάφερε να παραβιάσει το εθνικό συστήματος warningof US defense as well as to steal various corporate secrets.
Which is now?
Mitnick was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. After his imprisonment he became a computer security consultant. He now runs Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC.
2. Jonathan James
Η ιστορία του Τζόναθαν Τζέιμς, γνωστή ως "c0mrade", είναι τραγική. Άρχισε να παίζει με το hacking σε νεαρή ηλικία, καταφέρνοντας να εισβάλει σε διάφορα εμπορικά και κυβερνητικά δίκτυα, με αποτέλεσμα να πάει στη φυλακή ενώ ήταν ακόμα ανήλικος.
What did he do?
James eventually broke into NASA's network and received enough source code ($ 1,7 million in assets at the time) to learn how the International Space Station worked. NASA had to shut down its network for three whole weeks, and the investigation into the breach cost an additional $ 41.000.
Which is now?
In 2007, many high-profile companies were maliciously attacked on the network. Although James denied any involvement, suspicions fell on him. In 2008, James committed suicide, believing he would be convicted of crimes he did not commit.
3. Albert Gonzalez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9LFNhUDj1U
Albert Gonzalez is one of the best hackers in the world. He started as the leader of a hacker group called ShadowCrew. In addition to stealing and selling credit card numbers, ShadowCrew has also created fake passports, health insurance cards and birth certificates for criminals.
What did he do?
Albert Gonzalez became famous when he collected more than 170 million credit and ATM card numbers over a two-year period. He then hacked into the databases of TJX and Heartland Payment Systems to steal all their stored credit card numbers.
Which is now?
Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in prison (two 20-year sentences to be served at the same time) and is scheduled to be released in 2025.
4. Kevin Poulsen
Ο Kevin Poulsen, επίσης γνωστός ως "Dark Dante", κέρδισε τα 15 λεπτά της φήμης του χρησιμοποιώντας τις περίπλοκες γνώσεις του σχετικά με τα τηλεφωνικά συστήματα. Μάλιστα παραβίασε τις τηλεφωνικές γραμμές ενός ραδιοφωνικού σταθμού και "φρόντισε" να αναδειχθεί νικητής σε διαγωνισμό, κερδίζοντας μία ολοκαίνουργια Porsche. Τα μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης τον ονόμασαν «Λέκτορα Hannibal των υπολογιστών».
What did he do?
Poulsen was added to the FBI wanted list when he broke into federal systems and stole information. He was arrested in a supermarket and sentenced to 51 months in prison and $ 56.000 in damages.
Which is now?
Poulsen changed his ways after his release in 1995. He began working as a journalist and is now a co-editor of Wired. In 2006, it even helped law enforcement identify 744 sex offenders on MySpace.
5. Gary McKinnon
Ο Gary McKinnon, γνωστός στο διαδίκτυο ως "Solo", έκανε το μεγαλύτερο στρατιωτικό hack ηλεκτρονικών υπολογιστών όλων των εποχών.
What did he do?
In the 13 months from February 2001 to March 2002, McKinnon illegally gained access to 97 computers belonging to the U.S. Armed Forces and NASA.
He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture and that his confession had been obtained through torture.
Which is now?
Being of Scottish descent and operating outside the United Kingdom, McKinnon was able to avoid the US government until 2005, when he finally faced extradition.
Following a series of appeals, British Prime Minister Theresa May blocked his extradition on the grounds that he was "seriously ill" and that his extradition would be "incompatible with his human rights".
6. Robert Tapan Morris
Robert Tappan Morris learned about computers from his father Robert Morris, who was a computer scientist at Bell Labs and later at the NSA. Morris is credited with creating the world's first known worm. Since a lot of types of computer viruses have been created since then, we guess they are not very popular with users who have had an unfortunate event with a virus.
What did he do?
In 1988, he co-founded Morris Worm while a student at Cornell University. The program aimed to measure the size of the internet, but it had one drawback: computers could be infected multiple times, and each infection made the computer slow down even more. It rendered more than 6.000 computers useless.
Which is now?
In 1989, Robert Tappan Morris was found to have broken the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He was sentenced to three years in prison, 400 hours of community service and fined $ 10.050. He eventually founded Y Combinator and is now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
7. Loud Blackensip
Ο Loyd Blankenship, γνωστός ως "The Mentor" στους κύκλους hacking, είναι ενεργός hacker από τη δεκαετία του 1970. Ήταν μέλος πολλών hacking ομάδων στο παρελθόν, κυρίως της Legion of Doom (LOD).
What did he do?
Ο Blankenship συνέταξε ένα δοκίμιο με τίτλο "Mentor's Last Words" (ονομάζεται επίσης "Συνείδηση ενός hacker και μανιφέστο του hacker"), το οποίο έγραψε μετά τη σύλληψή του το 1986. Το δοκίμιο έχει θεωρηθεί ως ένα είδος ακρογωνιαίου λίθου για την κουλτούρα της πειρατείας.
Which is now?
Ο Blankenship προσλήφθηκε από την εταιρεία Steve Jackson Games το 1989 για να εργαστεί στο GURPS Cyberpunk. Συνέγραψε ένα βιβλίο σχετικά με τα παιχνίδια ρόλων του κυβερνοχώρου GURPS Cyberpunk, το χειρόγραφο του οποίου κατασχέθηκε σε μια επιδρομή του 1990 στην έδρα της Steve Jackson Games από την Μυστική Υπηρεσία των ΗΠΑ, αποκαλώντας το "εγχειρίδιο για έγκλημα σε υπολογιστή". Η επιδρομή κατέληξε στην δικαστική υπόθεση Steve Jackson Games, Inc. κατά Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών. Τώρα είναι ο επικεφαλής της έρευνας και σχεδιασμού productof in McAfee.
8. Julian Assange
Ο Julian Assange άρχισε να δραστηριοποιείται σε ηλικία 16 ετών με το όνομα "Μεντάξ". Πάνω από τέσσερα χρόνια, είχε πρόσβαση σε διάφορα κυβερνητικά, εταιρικά και εκπαιδευτικά δίκτυα, όπως στο Πεντάγωνο, στη NASA, στην Lockheed Martin, στην Citibank και το Πανεπιστήμιο του Στάνφορντ.
What did he do?
Assange launched WikiLeaks in 2006, a platform for publishing news leaks and classified documents from anonymous sources. The United States launched an investigation against Assange in 2010, and indicted him under a 1917 espionage law.
Which is now?
After living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London from 2012 to 2019, Assange eventually lost his asylum and police went to the embassy to arrest him. He is currently in prison in the United Kingdom, although British courts have rejected the United States extradition.
9. Guccifer 2.0
Ποιος είναι ο Guccifer 2.0; Κανείς δεν ξέρει σίγουρα. Θα μπορούσε να είναι ένα άτομο ή μια ομάδα που μεταμφιέζεται ως ένα άτομο. Το όνομα αποτίνει φόρο τιμής σε έναν Ρουμάνο hacker (γνωστός ως "Guccifer") που στόχευε συχνά κυβερνητικούς αξιωματούχους των ΗΠΑ και άλλους πολιτικούς κύρους.
What did he do?
During the US presidential election in 2016, he violated the network of the National Assembly of Democrats. Thousands of documents were leaked to WikiLeaks and elsewhere. Many believe that Guccifer 2.0 is a cover for Russian espionage, but in an interview with Vice, Guccifer 2.0 claimed to be Romanians and not Russians.
Which is now?
Guccifer 2.0 disappeared shortly before the 2016 US presidential election and then reappeared once in January 2017 to claim it had no ties to the Russian government. We have not heard from him since.
10. Anonymous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_eagP4MPHE
Οι ανώνυμοι (ος) μπορεί να είναι οι πιο γνωστοί "hacker" όλων των εποχών, αλλά και οι πιο νεφελώδες. Οι Anonymous δεν είναι ένα άτομο αλλά μάλλον μια αποκεντρωμένη ομάδα hacker, χωρίς real membership or hierarchy. Anyone can act on behalf of Anonymous.
What did they do?
Since its emergence in 2003, Anonymous has been credited with attacks on several notable targets, including Amazon, PayPal, Sony, Westboro Baptist Church, Church of Scientology, parts of the dark web and in governments of Australia, India, Syria, the United States, and dozens of others.
Which is now?
Anonymous continues its activism to this day. Since 2011, two related piracy groups have been created by Anonymous: LulzSec and AntiSec.
