--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If hackers, if anyone committing a…" description: "\"If hackers, if anyone committing a criminal act, wants to reduce their risk, they obviously don't involve anybody else. The greater the circle of peopl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/253/kevin-mitnick-3026_act_if-hackers-if-anyone-committing-a-crimin_2137668.png" --- # If hackers, if anyone committing a criminal act, wants to… ![“If hackers, if anyone committing a criminal act, wants to reduce their risk, they obviously don't involve anybody else. The greater the circle of people that know what you're doing, the higher the risk.” quote by Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/253/kevin-mitnick-3026_act_if-hackers-if-anyone-committing-a-crimin_2137668.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/253/kevin-mitnick-3026_act_if-hackers-if-anyone-committing-a-crimin_2137668.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/253/kevin-mitnick-3026_act_if-hackers-if-anyone-committing-a-crimin_2137668.png) > “If hackers, if anyone committing a criminal act, wants to reduce their risk, they obviously don't involve anybody else. The greater the circle of people that know what you're doing, the higher the risk.” [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reducing criminal risk involves limiting the number of people who know about the illicit activity; the more people involved, the higher the exposure. **In simple terms:** Fewer accomplices lower the chance of being caught. Key Takeaway Minimize exposure by keeping actions private. Themes security crime risk management operational security Mood cautious pragmatic Type advisory warning When to use this quote - personal security planning - corporate risk assessments - law enforcement investigations Key Concepts trust information leakage network security Questions to Reflect On - Who can you trust with sensitive information? - How can you protect yourself if you must collaborate? A Different Perspective Even small circles can be infiltrated; insider threats remain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act/) [Anybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anybody/) [Anyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anyone/) [Circle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circle/) [Committing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing/) [Committing Criminal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-criminal-4436745/) [Criminal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/else/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hacker/) [Hackers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hackers/) [Hackers Committing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hackers-committing-4436744/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Higher Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-risk-936082/) [Involve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involve/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Obviously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obviously/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reduce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reduce/) [Reduce Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reduce-risk-531639/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [I may be what my enemies desire me to be, yet never an accusation are they able to hurl against me which makes me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/i-may-be-what-my-enemies-desire-me-to-be-yet-never-an-accusation-are/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [Facts are, insurance ratings are really dependent on the notion that some people are higher risk than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-j-kennedy/facts-are-insurance-ratings-are-really-dependent-on-the-notion-that/) [Patrick J. 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Now you know all about your target](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/the-human-now-you-know-all-about-your-target/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [I was fascinated with the phone system and how it worked; I became a hacker to get better control over the phone company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/i-was-fascinated-with-the-phone-system-and-how-it-worked-i-became-a/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Nine out of every 10 large corporations and government agencies have been attacked by computer intruders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/nine-out-of-every-10-large-corporations-and-government-agencies-have/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Back up everything! You are not invulnerable. Catastrophic data loss can happen to you - one worm or Trojan is all it takes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/back-up-everything-you-are-not-invulnerable-catastrophic-data-loss/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [It's true, I had hacked into a lot of companies, and took copies of the source code to analyze it for security bugs. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/it-s-true-i-had-hacked-into-a-lot-of-companies-and-took-copies-of-the/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [When an attacker fails with one person, they often go to another person. The key is to report the attack to other departments. Workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/when-an-attacker-fails-with-one-person-they-often-go-to-another/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [I think malware is a significant threat because the mitigation, like antivirus software, hasn't evolved to a point to really mitigate the risk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/i-think-malware-is-a-significant-threat-because-the-mitigation-like/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Usually companies hire me, and they know full well who I am, and that's one of the reasons they want to hire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/usually-companies-hire-me-and-they-know-full-well-who-i-am-and-that-s/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [A lot of companies are clueless, because they spend most or all of their security budget on high-tech security like fire walls and biometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/a-lot-of-companies-are-clueless-because-they-spend-most-or-all-of/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [I characterize myself as a retired hacker. I'm applying what I know to improve security at companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/i-characterize-myself-as-a-retired-hacker-i-m-applying-what-i-know-to/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/no-company-that-i-ever-hacked-into-reported-any-damages-which-they/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [New security loopholes are constantly popping up because of wireless networking. 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