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Portrait of Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick

(1963–2023) Computer Security Consultant United States

142 quotes in 978 categories

Kevin Mitnick’s words weave together the thrill of codebreaking with a keen eye on the human side of security. Across 142 quotes you’ll find the same sharp wit that once outmaneuvered the world’s most guarded systems, now turned toward lessons on curiosity, risk, and the everyday dance between privacy and exposure.

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Kevin Mitnick was a computer security consultant from the United States, best known for The Art of Deception.

Quick Facts About Kevin Mitnick

Born: August 6, 1963
Died: July 16, 2023
Nationality: United States
Profession: Computer Security Consultant
Notable works: The Art of Deception
Known for: The Art of Deception, The Art of Intrusion, Certified Social Engineering Prevention Specialist, Freedom Downtime, Ghost in the Wires

About Kevin Mitnick

Kevin David Mitnick was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. In 1995, he was arrested for various computer and communications-related crimes, and spent five years in prison after being convicted of fraud and illegally intercepting communications. Mitnick's pursuit, arrest, trial and sentence were all controversial, as were the associated media coverage, books, and films, with his supporters arguing that his punishment was excessive and that many of the charges against him were fraudulent, and not based on actual losses. After his release from prison, he ran his own security firm, Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC, and was also involved with other computer security businesses.

Biography source: Wikipedia

Quotes by Kevin Mitnick

To some people I'll always be the bad guy.

Always

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You can't go to Windows Update and get a patch for stupidity.

Patch

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Some people think technology has the answers.

Answers

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I wasn't a hacker for the money, and it wasn't to cause damage.

Cause

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For the average home-user, anti-virus software is a must.

Anti-virus

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There is no patch for stupidity.

Inspirational

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I was hooked in before hacking was even illegal.

Before

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The human. Now you know all about your target

Goals

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My primary goal of hacking was the intellectual curiosity, the seduction of adventure.

Adventure

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Anything out there is vulnerable to attack given enough time and resources.

Anything

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So the ethic I was taught in school resulted in the path I chose in my life following school.

Education

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The hacking trend has definitely turned criminal because of e-commerce.

Because

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The intent of the individuals who created the DDoS attacks has nothing to do with hacking, and they are vandals, not hackers.

Cybersecurity

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Back in my day, I would probe by hand. Now you can get commercial software that does the job for you.

Probe

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Back up everything! You are not invulnerable. Catastrophic data loss can happen to you - one worm or Trojan is all it…

Back

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Garbage can provide important details for hackers: names, telephone numbers, a company's internal jargon.

Company

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Hacking was the only entertainment that would occupy my mind - like a huge video game, but with real consequences. I could…

Able

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I think malware is a significant threat because the mitigation, like antivirus software, hasn't evolved to a point to really mitigate the…

Because

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Both social engineering and technical attacks played a big part in what I was able to do. It was a hybrid. I…

Able

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I'm an expert witness in a case that's in appeal about a guy who allegedly misappropriated source code from a major, major…

Appeal

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So what I was essentially doing was, I compromised the confidentiality of their proprietary software to advance my agenda of becoming the…

Becoming

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I'm still a hacker. I get paid for it now. I never received any monetary gain from the hacking I did before.…

Cybersecurity

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A lot of companies are clueless, because they spend most or all of their security budget on high-tech security like fire walls…

Because

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

Becoming

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I started with CB radio, ham radio, and eventually went into computers. And I was just fascinated with it. And back then,…

Activity

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The methods that will most effectively minimize the ability of intruders to compromise information security are comprehensive user training and education. Enacting…

Ability

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Companies spend millions of dollars on firewalls, encryption, and secure access devices and it's money wasted because none of these measures address…

Access

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It doesn't work the same way everywhere. The Americans are the most gullible, because they don't like to deny co-workers' requests. People…

Americans

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When an attacker fails with one person, they often go to another person. The key is to report the attack to other…

Company

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Penetrating a company's security often starts with the bad guy obtaining some piece of information that seems so innocent, so everyday and…

Any

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Think about it: if you were running a multi-million dollar company, and your database of customer information was stolen, would you want…

About

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A company can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on firewalls, intrusion detection systems and encryption and other security technologies, but if…

Business

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The Internet is like the phone. To be without it is ridiculous.

Internet

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At the end of the day, my goal was to be the best hacker.

Best

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Social engineers veil themselves in a cloak of believability.

Believability

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I happen to be notorious. That, I have no control over.

Control

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I saw myself as an electronic joy rider.

Electronic

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I have done a lot to rehabilitate my reputation.

Done

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Hacking is exploiting security controls either in a technical, physical or a human-based element.

Controls

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I did get a huge endorphin rush when I was able to crack a system because it was like a video game.

Able

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Kevin Mitnick by topic

Cybersecurity (58) Hacker (56) Security (26) People (25) Hacking (22) Computer (20) Computers (19) Programming (16) Hackers (15) Company (15) Business (14) You (13) Like (12) Information (12) Access (12) Use (11) Because (10) Your (9) Technology (9) Know (9) Person (8) Me (8) Government (8) Get (8) Companies (8)