Kevin Mitnick

The world's most famous former computer hacker, now a security consultant, describes his life on the run from the FBI creating fake identities, finding jobs at a law firm and a hospital and keeping tabs on his pursuers.

My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker

Ghost in the Wires

Timeo Williams

What a story. Kevin has lived through quite a life. As someone that admires a rebellious streak in others, with greater respect to those who can execute this successfully, Kevin Mitnick has earned my admiration. 

For the sake of curiosity or for the sake of hacking in and of itself, as Kevin would put it, is the reason behind it. He also refers to it as an addiction along the lines of alcoholism, but for the record, let's just say he likes figuring things out. An middle school kid who begins looking into computers at the cusp of their arrival, he is engrossed in it's technicalities and possibilities. He alikins it to being a magician. He is close to being arrested multiple times throughout his life, but through his smooth-talking ability, high intelligence and luck manages to avoid the Feds for quite a long time. The book, for the most part, details his life as a fugitive. It's a very interesting read.

Anthony

I really enjoyed this book. I've always been fascinated with hacking and this opened my eyes up to things I never knew even happened (phone phreaking, etc.).

Matthew Royal

Kevin Mitnick is an unreliable narrator and tells a fascinating story. I wish this book were twice as long.

I expected some serious action, fun and humor to this book. Maybe some thrilling car chases and exploding things. I guess it really didnt appeal to me that much, because I didnt understand more than half of the terms he used, and frankly, I'm not into all this technology stuff.

I love how some misconceptions were explained to me, and how I understood some of the lingo they used. Mitnick was really brilliant, and you could see that very clearly through his social engineering skills. What bothered me most was his obsession. He got caught quite a lot and they practically let him off most of the time. He had his chance, and he didn't take it. He keeps trying to pull off how he wasnt doing any damage and it was just for fun and all that crap, but really?! That was illegal, and he did quite a lot of damage. 

Anyway, the places where different but the same hacking techniques were used over and over again, and by the middle part I was pushing myself to read on. The plot pacing was very slow, and frankly, the book is too long.

Todd Luallen

I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating read. Part of the enjoyment had to due with the fact that Mitnick and I grew up in the same suburb of Los Angeles and he references it a few times in the book. But probably the most engaging aspect of this book was that Mitnick was so darn good at social engineering. And he was seemingly fearless in his willingness to attempt to con people over the phone. Some other reviewers have criticized his hacking ability because he just used exploits that were already available. That may be true, but he was probably one of the best phreakers around, and if you add in his ability to social engineer, and hack (using common exploits), I'd guess that most top hackers would be hard pressed to top his skills. All in all, well worth the time to read this book, and thoroughly entertaining as well.

really interesting read about one of the most prolific (maybe first of notoriety?) phreakers and social engineer attackers. Kevin Mitnick feels like the modern day Frank Abignail Jr. of telecommunications.  

i can barely make a phone call to a restaurant without getting nervous and twisting my words, meanwhile this guy was on x-games mode manipulating the whole system  

Adam Goehrig-Bawany

really interesting read about one of the most prolific (maybe first of notoriety?) phreakers and social engineer attackers. Kevin Mitnick feels like the modern day Frank Abignail Jr. of telecommunications.  

i can barely make a phone call to a restaurant without getting nervous and twisting my words, meanwhile this guy was on x-games mode manipulating the whole system  

Jason Long

This started out interesting, but Kevin's antics started to feel redundant and I almost gave up around 20% in. I stuck with it and things got much more interesting as the overarching cat and mouse game started to form. I ended up really enjoying the rest of the book.

Alexandra S

William L. Simon

Kevin D. Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick, the world's most wanted computer hacker, managed to hack into some of the country's most powerful - and seemingly impenetrable - agencies and companies. By conning employees into giving him private information and maneuvering through layers of security, he gained access to data that no one else could. The suspenseful heart of the book unfolds as Mitnick disappears on a three-year run from the FBI. He creates fake identities, finds jobs at a law firm and hospital, and keeps tabs on his myriad pursuers - all while continuing to hack into computer systems and phone company switches that were considered flawless. A modern, technology-driven adventure story, GHOST IN THE WIRES is a dramatic account of the joy of outsmarting security programs, the satisfaction of code-cracking, and the thrill of unbelievable escape.

Ghost in the Wires My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker

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