Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick (PDF)

Description

In this “intriguing, insightful and extremely educational” novel, the world’s most famous hacker teaches you easy cloaking and counter-measures for citizens and consumers in the age of Big Brother and Big Data (Frank W. Abagnale). Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies — and no matter how fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. As the FBI’s net finally began to tighten, Mitnick went on the run, engaging in an increasingly sophisticated game of hide-and-seek that escalated through false identities, a host of cities, and plenty of close shaves, to an ultimate showdown with the Feds, who would stop at nothing to bring him down. Ghost in the Wires is a thrilling true story of intrigue, suspense, and unbelievable escapes — and a portrait of a visionary who forced the authorities to rethink the way they pursued him, and forced companies to rethink the way they protect their most sensitive information. “Mitnick manages to make breaking computer code sound as action-packed as robbing a bank.” — NPR

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐It’s Kevin. Enough said.

⭐Surprisingly, for a memoir about a guy who spends most of his time sitting in front of a computer, Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker is a gripping thrill ride. And it’s a testament to Kevin Mitnick and his co-author, William Simon, that it works. In the wrong hands, the same material could easily be boring or overly technical. They found the right balance of action, technical detail, and non-hacking content to keep the story engaging. The book gives you a real sense of the hacking underworld, as well as how surprisingly easy it is to social engineer individuals, companies, and government agencies.The most surprising part of the story is how little of Mitnick’s exploits were due to what we traditionally think of as computer hacking, and how much was due to social engineering. Mitnick learned to be a master manipulator, and in this book he explains to you how he convinced cops to turn over records, trusted employees to send files to people they just met, and just about anyone to do anything over the phone. If you want to better protect yourself from social engineering, this book is a great primer. It really makes you think about how quick we are to trust someone with a bit of confidence when they know a couple details we assume they would only know if the confidence were warranted.Mitnick manages to make himself relatable. By including personal details, descriptions of family life, and imagery of his surroundings, he comes across as a regular guy. He compares his hacking activities to an addiction. I can almost buy that. He was getting notoriety, solving interesting puzzles, and probably feeling the same kind of rush that cleptomaniacs feel. It sounds like it could easily become a compulsion if you’re good at it and don’t have a certain moral wavelength turned on.And I say that last sentence carefully. Because Mitnick (as far as I know and he claims in the book) never did anything especially damaging compared to some of the other well known hackers. He says he wasn’t in it for money or to do harm, but instead to satiate his curiosity. A significant portion of the book concentrates on this fact, and how the media played up his story to make him sound a lot more evil than he deserved. And that apparently affected his prosecution by the government. John Markoff, a well known New York Times reporter at the time, is singled out for particularly incredulous stories.Yet, my biggest criticism with the book, would be Mitnick’s lack of sympathy for his victims. He spends a lot of time emphasizing how little damage he did, and almost no time apologizing for the damage that he did do. Sure, he may not have sold the source code he stole for a profit. And sure, the people he tricked mostly just had their time wasted. He didn’t actively try to ruin anybody’s life. Yet, mitigating his “work” inevitably cost companies and individual a lot of time. Employee time is money. It probably cost taxpayers millions of dollars investigating, trying him, and catching him. His exploits made people feel unsafe and caused them emotional distress. And he doesn’t seem very sorry. For that reason, I found him especially difficult to root for during the early chapters. Even his “pranks” as a teenager sometimes seemed mean spirited if I were to be on the receiving end of the frustration they caused.In the end, though, Mitnick won me over. I found his relationship with his mother and grandmother endearing. I think the way he turned his life around after getting out of prison the last time is remarkable. It seems he’s done a lot of good the last twenty years. He’s an example of why people deserve a second chance, and his book is an interesting examination of social engineering and the media-legal system complex.

⭐I first heard about Ghost in the Wires approximately three weeks prior to its release, while listening to a radio interview with author Kevin Mitnick, who phoned in from Spain. Intrigued by the amazing account of his life as America’s most wanted hacker, I ventured away from my usual mystery-solving to explore a former hacker’s adventure story.Mitnick is fascinated by magic and shows his skills as an escape artist by pulling off a two-and-a-half-year disappearing act that kept the F.B.I., U.S. Marshalls and Secret Service hot on his trail. Like his idol Harry Houdini, whose real name (Eric Weizs) he uses as a false identity, Mitnick demonstrates escape artistry in the virtual realm as well.The book displays a balanced distribution of tech talk and a healthy sense of humor as it tells Mitnick’s almost unbelievable life story. The tale comes in second, in my mind, only to the story of plane crash survivor Juliane Köpcke, which was exquisitely documented in the Werner Herzog film Wings of Hope–and who could compete with that story? As we read the nail-biting narrative of Ghost in the Wires, we have to remind ourselves that this is a real-life story starring a real-life person.Mitnick shows some emotion when he writes about the inequality of the justice system, betrayal by friends, and the pain and suffering caused to his most loyal supporters, especially the leading ladies of his life, his mother and grandmother. He was lucky to have had such a strong family giving unconditional love (something many of us never experience) and the support of the hacker community and the Free Kevin movement. In contrast, he shows an uncanny coolness during his social engineering stints and especially during the last hours before his arrest.Despite the curveballs life throws him–provoked, of course, by his actions–Mitnick seems to get right back up, dust himself off, and continue his unstoppable search for knowledge and information. Some of his beautiful traits are his ability to forgive and move on, rather than letting anger and bitterness consume his being. We get a slight sense of a happy-go-lucky person, the eternal playful boy.We seem to sit right next to him as he hacks into the servers of Motorola, Sun, and Pacific Bell, tasting the thrill he gets, as a self-described trophy hunter, when he obtains the most sensitive security details. We also witness a less attractive sight, the desperation and restlessness of a computer junkie looking for his next fix. We squirm in our seats in anticipation of the trouble that is to follow. Still, Mitnick manages to stay on a somewhat ethical path in that he never destroys information, preserves the anonymity of others involved, and never derives monetary gain, despite having plenty of opportunity.As the situation escalates in the last five chapters, it seems as if we are being slightly hurried to the end. In my view, that last section could have received a little more love and kept us more on the edge of our seats as the trap snaps shut. Perhaps that is the sleuth in me talking.In the end the “bad guy” gets caught. Many of us will remember the headlines in The New York Times or will rush to the computer to search for the news articles. While the book answers many questions that had gone unanswered due to Mitnick’s plea agreement, it also raises many new questions.Each of the 38 chapters begins with a cryptogram. Unless you are familiar with such riddles and have the proper tools to solve them, I suggest you save yourself some time and frustration and step away from the code. I managed to solve five, probably the easiest ones. Despite this dismal result, I was able to experience the fascination and challenge of solving a complicated puzzle. Is this what it must feel like when you are Kevin Mitnick hacking into someone’s server?Through a series of lucky circumstances, Mitnick has reinvented and rebranded himself and become a positive role model to many young and brilliant technology enthusiasts, all while maintaining his seat on the throne as America’s most wanted hacker.

⭐An eye opening read from someone who was at the beginning of the computer revolution… Kevin Mitnicks exploits from those early days are simply astounding… His great technical skill and likeable personality makes him a much more relatable hero… After numerous successful exploits and evading the authorities until his ultimate capture show the reader his great expertise at defeating secure networks and computer systems as well as the complexity of such hacks… As someone studying a BSc in Computing this book was of great interest to me… For anyone with a passing interest in computing this is a must read… 5/5!

⭐Much has been written about Kevin Mitnick and unknowingly some of it even briefly stumbled upon the truth. Those factual nuggets were, however, mired in a morass of of lies and half-truths leading to the creation of a reputation of almost mythical proportions. Here then is the warts and all factual account of what happened. Some may take umbrage at the fact its not written as a massive apology note, but many others (including myself) would rather see everything as it happened stripped of media hype and fud. Anyone who says that Kevin shows no remorse whatsoever clearly hasn’t read the book, it may be directed towards some of his close family and friends, but it IS there. He doesn’t show much remorse for some organisations that he may have intruded upon, but given the length of his incarceration and the way in which simple acts were blown out of all proportions (he doesn’t eat babies and he can’t launch missiles by whistling) anyone who takes offense would be advised to walk a mile in his shoes and then see how forgiving they felt then. I’ve seen some negative commentary from some others who say that the content is too out of date. To those I would suggest putting “define history” into a popular search engine. This is an autobiographical account of what happened, it deals with the what, where, why and how of Kevin Mitnick. I laughed at sections of the book, both in terms of the crazy stunts he pulled as a youngster and the sheer chutzpah he showed in carrying out most of his attacks. Other sections adequately conveyed the remorse he felt towards his immediate family and the fear he lived with whilst on the run from the authorities. Hackers aren’t particularly known for being erudite, but this is remarkably well written. I hope this gets picked up as a movie or a TV series, its certainly worthy of one.

⭐As someone who grew up with the birth of the public internet (ahh CompuServe) and a fan of dialing in to friend of friends houses at night to “acquire” files, Kevin’s story is very familiar to me.However this book blows away the misinformation and media hype surrounding the story and is told in a thrilling and sometime humorous way.From the start of the book it grabs the reader and won`t let go. Both fast paced and informative, it takes the reader from Kevin`s beginnings as a fan of magic tricks and magicians, to Ham radio and of course telephones and networks. If you’ve heard of Kevin Mitnick i guarantee you have not heard the truth. This book clears up the myths (He can whistle into a telephone and launch a nuclear missile from NORAD) and explains that not all hackers are in it for the money.Buy,beg,borrow this book…….Then check your computer security.My book of the year 5/5Thank you Kevin and good luck in the future

⭐The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers

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⭐The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

⭐I don’t often read and find it difficult for some books to keep my interest. With that being said I really enjoyed reading this book, finding that I didn’t want to put it down. The story line is captivating and exciting, but also gives you an insight to how vunerable we are today. I admire Kevin’s dedication and persistence with everything mentioned in this book. I’d definitely recommend this.

⭐Excellent book. I tend to read almost anything worthwhile about computers, computer pioneers, hacking/cracking etc. and this is the best book I’ve read yet. This is the fascinating but also simple to follow story of Kevin Mitnick’s hacking (and cracking) exploits. Really his story is one of “social engineering” skills, getting people to tell him what he wants to know, usually over the ‘phone. In one clever but simple example he ‘phones a company posing as a co-worker at another site and when asked to supply a password, he asks THEM what the password is as he claims that he’s about to send some information they’ve requested and when they believe him and then tell him the password – he’s in – simple!

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