If we had ever met in person, I would have given her a kiss to thank her for all the wonderful help she gave me. Ann, if you read this, your kiss is waiting.
I went to prison for my hacking. Now people hire me to do the same things I went to prison for, but in a legal and beneficial way.
But have you ever felt that something was so good it couldn’t possibly last?
The maximum sentence was twenty years for each free phone call. Twenty years for each call! I was facing a worst-case scenario of 460 years.
One noted software libertarian, Richard Stallman, even refused to protect his account with a password.
The difference can be summed up in one word: authorization. I don’t need authorization to get in. It’s the word that instantly transforms me from the World’s Most Wanted Hacker to one of the Most Wanted Security Experts in the world. Just like magic.
There isn’t any loving, romantic way to put this: I told Bonnie we needed to get married so she couldn’t testify against me, and also so she could visit me if I landed in jail, which was looking like the way things were headed.
Anyone who thinks that security products alone offer true security is settling for the illusion of security.
A typical call in one of my routines went like this: Me: What city, please? Caller: Providence. Me: What is the name, please? Caller: John Norton. Me: Is this a business or a residence? Caller: Residence. Me: The number is 836, 5 one-half 66. At this point the caller was usually either baffled or indignant. Caller: How do I dial one-half?! Me: Go pick up a new phone that has uh-half on it. The reactions I got were hilarious.
Every hacker is to some extent a rebel who lives by different standards and enjoys beating the system.
In the midst of this culture of openness and sharing, we need to think carefully about the information we’re volunteering to the world. Sometimes the world is listening.