Kevin Mitnick Quotes

A hacker doesn't deliberately destroy data or profit from his activities.

I went from being a kid who loved to perform magic tricks to becoming the world's most notorious hacker, feared by corporations and the government.

Unauthorized access to computer systems is already a serious crime in a few states and is currently being addressed in many more state legislatures as well as Congress.

While many hackers have the knowledge, skills, and tools to attack computer systems, they generally lack the motivation to cause violence or severe economic or social harm.

Are hackers a threat? The degree of threat presented by any conduct, whether legal or illegal, depends on the actions and intent of the individual and the harm they cause.

Then again, my case was all about the misappropriation of source code because I wanted to become the best hacker in the world and I enjoyed beating the security mechanisms.

To be clear, any attempt to hack or to do anything nefarious is wrong and illegal.

There is the possibility to be suddenly arrested for hacking.

Is hacking ever acceptable? It depends on the motive.

I don't know of any case that involves computer hacking where there were multiple defendants charged where there wasn't an informant on the case.

Hackers are seen as shadowy figures with superhuman powers that threaten civilization.

I was an accomplished computer trespasser. I don't consider myself a thief.

For about half an hour in mid-1992, I knew as much as any layperson about the pleasures of remote access of other people's computers.

The hacker mindset doesn't actually see what happens on the other side, to the victim.

Because there are little to no consequences for conducting cyberattacks, criminals and nation-states are becoming bolder in their threats and behavior. Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are increasingly hacking into U.S. companies and government networks for espionage purposes or financial gain.

Your fragile mind can't have forgotten the terrifying technothriller series known 'Scorpion'. Because it features the worst hacking scenes ever broadcast in any medium.

Every ISP is being attacked, maliciously both from in the United States and outside of the United States, by those who want to invade people's privacy. But more importantly they want to take control of computers, they want to hack them, they want to steal information.

No company that I ever hacked into reported any damages, which they were required to do for significant losses.

Computer hacking really results in financial losses and hassles. The objectives of terrorist groups are more serious. That is not to say that cyber groups can't access a telephone switch in Manhattan on a day like 9/11, shut it down, and therefore cause more casualties.

I was an accomplished computer trespasser. I don't consider myself a thief. I copied without permission.

While the vast majority of hackers may be disinclined towards violence, it would only take a few to turn cyber terrorism into reality.

It is a fairly open secret that almost all systems can be hacked, somehow. It is a less spoken of secret that such hacking has actually gone quite mainstream.

No company that I ever hacked into reported any damages, which they were required to do for significant losses. Sun didn't stop using Solaris and DEC didn't stop using VMS.

My hacking was all about becoming the best at circumventing security. So when I was a fugitive, I worked systems administrator jobs to make money. I wasn't stealing money or using other people's credit cards. I was doing a 9-to-5 job.

Our information network is much better protected than our railroad network, and someone who cracks a system is able to cause far less human damage than someone who derails a train. Why, then, has 'computer crime' caused so much hysteria? Perhaps because the public is so willing - eager, even - to be scared by bogeymen.