[Info-vax] Famed US hacker Kevin Mitnick dies aged 59

[Dan Cross]

In article <a56192c3-b74a-4050-b42c-a08850ad0efdn at googlegroups.com>,
gah4  <gah4 at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>On Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 11:08:54 PM UTC-7, Nomen Nescio wrote:
>(snip)
>
>> Some of us continue to question whether Mitnick actually hacked 
>> a VMS system as claimed, or simply took advantage of a careless 
>> system manager who failed to change the default password on a 
>> certain account. Shimomura knows the truth of the matter and so 
>> does that SYSMGR. 
> 
>As far as I know, that counts.
>
>Reminds me of the story of the plumber fixing a sink.
>Goes under the sink, and a few minutes with a hammer, fixes it
>and gives the bill for $50 to the owner.
>
>Owner complains about so much for just a little work.
>
>Then a new bill:
>
>Applying hammer to drain: $1.  Knowing where to do it: $49.
>
>Not all hackers will know the default passwords for VMS.
>
>For those that do, it counts.

The passwords were printed in the manuals.

I don't wish to speak ill of the dead; I met Mitnick once (I
probably still have one of his "lock pick" business cards
somewhere), but I don't think anyone thinks he was particularly
technically adept.  His hacking "skill" was more along the lines
of social engineering, at which I understand he was masterful.

	- Dan C.