Oh How the Game has Changed

In 1992, Kevin Mitnick was the the FBI’s most-wanted hacker. Now, with a new book out, he heads up his own computer security consulting firm. In this HuffPo piece, Mitnick laments how, in his day, hacking was all about “intellectual curiosity, pursuit of knowledge and seduction of adventure.” That’s really quaint, since today hacking and cybercrime have their own ecosystems.  More from Mitnick:

Now [Hacking is] a trend. Hackers are breaking the systems for profit. Before, it was about intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge and thrill, and now hacking is big business. You have the Russian Business Network that leverages hacking skills to commit crime, credit card theft, bank fraud, identity fraud and securities fraud. It’s actually a smarter crime because imagine if you rob a bank, or you’re dealing drugs. If you get caught you’re going to spend a lot of time in custody. But with hacking, it’s much easier to commit the crime and the risk of punishment is slim to none.