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Art Bell welcomes Kevin Mitnick, once the FBI's most wanted hacker, for a conversation about computer security, social engineering, and his extraordinary life as a fugitive. Kevin traces his path from childhood magic enthusiast to phone phreak to federal prisoner, explaining how his fascination with understanding systems led him to compromise 40 major corporations and spend years evading federal authorities.
Kevin shares gripping stories from his fugitive years, including setting up an early warning system that monitored FBI agents' cell phones, leaving a box labeled "FBI Donuts" in his refrigerator the night before a raid, and hacking the prison phone system while in solitary confinement. He describes spending a year in solitary after a prosecutor convinced a judge he could launch nuclear missiles by whistling into a pay phone, and later serving five years in custody after being tracked down in North Carolina.
Now a trusted security consultant, Kevin discusses modern threats including ransomware, tech support scams from overseas call centers, the Sony Pictures hack, and the massive Office of Personnel Management data breach. He explains why he remains skeptical that North Korea was behind the Sony attack and demonstrates how even major companies remain vulnerable to simple social engineering.
Kevin shares gripping stories from his fugitive years, including setting up an early warning system that monitored FBI agents' cell phones, leaving a box labeled "FBI Donuts" in his refrigerator the night before a raid, and hacking the prison phone system while in solitary confinement. He describes spending a year in solitary after a prosecutor convinced a judge he could launch nuclear missiles by whistling into a pay phone, and later serving five years in custody after being tracked down in North Carolina.
Now a trusted security consultant, Kevin discusses modern threats including ransomware, tech support scams from overseas call centers, the Sony Pictures hack, and the massive Office of Personnel Management data breach. He explains why he remains skeptical that North Korea was behind the Sony attack and demonstrates how even major companies remain vulnerable to simple social engineering.
Key Moments
Solitary for hacking: Mitnick recalls being in solitary confinement in federal prison while facing a potential 400-year sentence for hacking.
FBI early warning system: Mitnick says he built an early warning system using a radio scanner and software to detect FBI presence near him.
FBI donuts inside: Mitnick recounts leaving a marked box of FBI donuts in his refrigerator before agents raided him the next morning.
Skeptical of Sony attribution: Mitnick says he is skeptical of the North Korea attribution for the Sony hack without transparent proof.
Social engineering always gets in: Mitnick says his firm has a 100 percent success rate when clients allow social engineering in security tests.