There are two types of hackers.
First, you’ve got the kind that is
so often portrayed by
Hollywood as an anti-social
nerd with a chip on his
shoulder out to dominate the
cyberworld by breaking into
secure networks and messing
things up. Second, you’ve got
the kind of people who just
enjoy fiddling around with
software source code and
hardware gigs.
That’s right. The term “hacker”
originally referred to the
second type, which held
absolutely no malevolent
connotations. Only recently has
the term been used to refer
primarily to criminal
masterminds. There are good
hackers and bad hackers!
Nowadays, benevolent hackers
are often called “white hats”
while the more sinister are
called “black hats.”
In this article, I’ll be talking
specifically about famous
hackers that don hats of black.
Here are five of the most widely
known black hatters and what
happened to them for their
recklessness.
 Jonathan James
Jonathan James was known as
“c0mrade” on the Internet.
What is his ticket to fame? He
was convicted and sent to
prison for hacking in the
United States–all while he was
still a minor. At only fifteen
years of age, he managed to
hack into a number of
networks, including those
belonging to Bell South, Miami-
Dade, the U.S. Department of
Defense, and NASA.
Yes, James hacked into NASA’s
network and downloaded
enough source code to learn
how the International Space
Station worked. The total value
of the downloaded assets
equaled $1.7 million. To add
insult to injury, NASA had to
shut down their network for
three whole weeks while they
investigated the breach, which
cost them $41,000.
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The story of James has a tragic
ending, however. In 2007, a
number of high profile
companies fell victim to a
massive wave of malicious
network attacks. Even though
James denied any involvement,
he was suspected and
investigated. In 2008, James
committed suicide, believing he
would be convicted of crimes
that he did not commit.

2.

2. Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick’s journey as a
computer hacker has been so
interesting and compelling that
the U.S. Department of Justice
called him the “most wanted
computer criminal in U.S.
history.” His story is so wild
that it was the basis for two
featured films.
What did he do? After serving a
year in prison for hacking into
the Digital Equipment
Corporation’s network, he was
let out for 3 years of supervised
release. Near the end of that
period, however, he fled and
went on a 2.5-year hacking
spree that involved breaching
the national defense warning
system and stealing corporate
secrets.
Mitnick was eventually caught
and convicted, ending with a 5-
year prison sentence. After
serving those years fully, he
became a consultant and public
speaker for computer security.
He now runs Mitnick Security
Consulting, LLC.

lbert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez paved his way
to Internet fame when he
collected over 170 million credit
card and ATM card numbers
over a period of 2 years. Yep.
That’s equal to a little over half
the population of the United
States.
Gonzalez started off as the
leader of a hacker group
known as ShadowCrew. This
group would go on to steal 1.5
million credit card numbers
and sell them online for profit.
ShadowCrew also fabricated
fraudulent passports, health
insurance cards, and birth
certificates for identity theft
crimes totaling $4.3 million
stolen.
The big bucks wouldn’t come
until later, when Gonzalez
hacked into the databases of
TJX Companies and Heartland
Payment Systems for their
stored credit card numbers. In
2010, Gonzalez was sentenced
to prison for 20 years (2
sentences of 20 years to be
served out simultaneously).

4Kevin Poulsen
Kevin
Poulsen,
also
known as
“Dark
Dante,”
gained
his
fifteen
minutes
of fame
by
utilizing
his intricate knowledge of
telephone systems. At one
point, he hacked a radio
station’s phone lines and fixed
himself as the winning caller,
earning him a brand new
Porsche. According to media,
he was called the “Hannibal
Lecter of computer crime.”
He then earned his way onto
the FBI’s wanted list when he
hacked into federal systems
and stole wiretap information.
Funny enough, he was later
captured in a supermarket and
sentenced to 51 months in
prison, as well paying $56,000
in restitution.
Like Kevin Mitnick, Poulsen
changed his ways after being
released from prison. He began
working as a journalist and is
now a senior editor for Wired
News. At one point, he even
helped law enforcement to
identify 744 sex offenders on
MySpace.

5. Gary McKinnon
Gary
McKinnon
was
known by
his Internet
handle,
“Solo.”
Using that
name, he
coordinated what would
become the largest military
computer hack of all time. The
allegations are that he, over a
13-month period from
February 2001 to March 2002,
illegally gained access to 97
computers belonging to the
U.S. Armed Forces and NASA.
McKinnon claimed that he was
only searching for information
related to free energy
suppression and UFO activity
cover-ups. But according to U.S.
authorities, he deleted a
number of critical files,
rendering over 300 computers
inoperable and resulting in
over $700,000 in damages.
Being of Scottish descent and
operating out of the United
Kingdom, McKinnon was able to
dodge the American
government for a time. As of
today, he continues to fight
against extradition to the
United States.
Now, do you know any famous
hackers who should be in this
hall of infamy? Put his (or her)
name down in the comments.

That's when your skills invite trouble to you.

cool

Dz wan z strong

Sweet.

Why are U.S based networks so vulnerable to hacking?

what about Adrian Lamo, digital
Robin Hood AKA anonymous, Mathew Bevan and Richard
Pryce

persius555:
Why are U.S based networks so vulnerable to hacking?

not dat dey re vulnerable to hacking, d hackers are juz damn too brilliant...

persius555:
Why are U.S based networks so vulnerable to hacking?

Almost all networks are vulnerable to hacking. The truth is, it's where the ants find sugar. Rogues target them for economic reasons (remember, their economy's boastful and they got ahead in e-banking earlier), enemy countries target them for security and political reasons (e.g. Russia, China) and the fun-loving nerds hit them for the fun (E.g. Edward Snowden). Also, they're having same problem we have here: government. Most of the victims of hacks have been gov agencies like their defence establishments. So, there may be management downsides. Like I said, where there's sugar... Nigerian networks aren't safe at all. Lemme stop babbling.

dopeangel re u a hacker??

end times

I dream to be a "white hat" hacker. I need help to start. Who cn help me.