Infamous hacker soon to be free
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SECURITY REPORTS Infamous hacker soon to be free Gerald Johns T he legal travails of the US's most famous criminal hacker, Kevin Mitnick, came to an end in August. Mitnick, who hacked networks at several high tech companies and also stole credit card numbers and software, was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Because of the time Mitnick, 36, has already spent in prison, he should be eligible for release by January 2000 or before, according to his lawyers. Mitnick was also ordered to pay $4125 in restitution to the companies he hacked but the figure was a fraction of the $1.5 million prosecutors sought. US District Court Judge Marianna Pfaelzer explained why the restitution as so low. "I want something that he can be ordered to pay, no matter what, because I'll know he has the ability to pay. I want to make a restitution order that is much, much larger. But I can't be sure he can pay it, and any non-payment is going to be a violation of the terms of his release." Mitnick pleaded guilty earlier this year to seven felonies, and admitted to hacking computers at organizations including Motorola, Novell and Sun Microsystems as well as illegally downloading software from some of the victim companies. Prior to the sentencing in the Federal Court the Los Angeles District Attorney dropped California State charges against Mitnick meaning that once his present jail term is over he is a free man. In Los Angeles, the Deputy District Attorney dropped the case against Mitnick because it had been "mischarged". Mitnick had been charged with illegally accessing a Department of Motor Vehicles computer and retrieving confidential information. However, the evidence showed Mitnick did not use a computer to access the DMV computer...he simply used a telephone to call an employee who gave him the information. The dropping of the charges confirmed what many of Mitnick's supporters have been claiming for years: he was the target of over-zealous prosecution. Since his arrest after a much-publicized manhunt in 1995, Mitnick has become a hacker icon...the subject of four books and an upcoming film. Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS) Barbara Gengler B ITS, a technology consortium of the largest banks in the US which include Bank of America, Citigroup and Chase Manhattan, has established the BITS Financial Services Security Laboratory to certify security software for use in commercial banking applications. The new facility will be used by financial services companies and technology vendors to cooperatively strengthen electronic banking systems security as well as work on risk and cost reduction. The lab will be operated by Global Integrity, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), with funding from participating vendors. BITS also formed an oversight committee that will determine the criteria against which the products will be tested. BITS CEO Catherine Allen said, "The BITS Security Lab will test security features and capabilities of products in both stand-alone and distributed environments for select PC operating environments, browsers, servers and applications software used for PC banking; anti-virus software, firewalls and end-to-end security systems." She also said products will be tested for their ability to meet specific criteria pertaining to security attributes such as authentication, integrity, confidentiality, privacy, auditability and authorization. A BITS-Tested process, including a BITS-Tested mark, will be equipped to certify testing of security- related technology against established criteria. For banks and vendors alike, the BITS-Tested Process at the laboratory will provide an unbiased third-party evaluation. If vendors meet criteria set by banks and federal agencies, they will receive a BITS-Tested mark indicating the overall security level for the product. A Working Group has been formed, chaired by Dan Nealis, senior vice president, Chase Manhattan Bank. "We are currently defining product prioritization and testing criteria...We plan to start with commercially available products and will move into the earlier stages of product development as we gain experience and increase capacity." Computer Fraud & Security September 1999 3723/99/$20.00 © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
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Transcript of Infamous hacker soon to be free
SECURITY REPORTS
Infamous hacker soon to be free Gerald Johns
T he legal travails of the US's most famous criminal hacker, Kevin Mitnick, came to an
end in August. Mitnick, who hacked networks at several high tech companies and also stole credit card numbers and software, was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
Because of the time Mitnick, 36, has already spent in prison, he should be eligible for release by January 2000 or before, according to his lawyers. Mitnick was also o rde red to pay $4125 in res t i tu t ion to the companies he hacked but the figure was a fraction of the $1.5 million prosecutors sought. US District Court Judge Marianna Pfaelzer explained why the restitution as so low. "I want something that he can be ordered to pay, no matter what, because I'll know he has the ability to pay. I want to make a restitution order that is much, much larger. But I can't be sure he can pay it, and any non-payment is going to be a violation of the terms of his release."
Mitnick pleaded guilty earlier this year to seven fe lonies , and admi t ted to hacking compute r s at organizations including Motorola, Novell and Sun Mic rosys t ems as well as i l legal ly download ing software from some of the victim companies. Prior to the sentencing in the Federal Court the Los Angeles District Attorney dropped California State charges against Mitnick meaning that once his present jail term is over he is a free man.
In Los Angeles, the Deputy District At torney dropped the case against Mitnick because it had been "mischarged". Mitnick had been charged with illegally accessing a Department of Motor Vehicles computer and retrieving confidential information. However, the evidence showed Mitnick did not use a computer to access the DMV compu te r . . . h e s imply used a telephone to call an employee who gave him the information. The dropping of the charges confirmed what many of Mitnick's supporters have been claiming for years : he was the ta rge t of ove r - zea lous prosecution. Since his arrest after a much-publicized manhunt in 1995, Mitnick has become a hacker icon...the subject of four books and an upcoming film.
Banking Industry Technology Secretariat (BITS)
Barbara Gengler
B ITS, a technology consortium of the largest b a n k s in the US w h i c h inc lude Bank of
America, Citigroup and Chase Manhattan, has established the BITS Financial Services Security Laboratory to certify security software for use in commercial banking applications.
The new facility will be used by financial services companies and technology vendors to cooperatively strengthen electronic banking systems security as well as work on risk and cost reduction. The lab will be operated by Global Integrity, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), with funding from participating vendors. BITS also formed an oversight committee that will determine the criteria against which the products will be tested.
BITS CEO Catherine Allen said, "The BITS Security Lab will test security features and capabilities of products in both s tand-alone and dis t r ibuted environments for select PC operating environments, browsers, servers and applications software used for PC banking; anti-virus software, firewalls and end-to-end security systems." She also said products will be tested for their ability to meet specific criteria pertaining to security attributes such as authentication, integrity, confidentiality, privacy, auditability and authorization.
A BITS-Tested process, including a BITS-Tested mark, will be equipped to certify testing of security- related technology against established criteria. For banks and vendors alike, the BITS-Tested Process at the laboratory will provide an unbiased third-party evaluation. If vendors meet criteria set by banks and federal agencies, they will receive a BITS-Tested mark indicating the overall security level for the product.
A Working Group has been formed, chaired by Dan Nealis, senior vice president, Chase Manhattan Bank. "We are currently defining product prioritization and testing criteria...We plan to start with commercially available products and will move into the earlier stages of product development as we gain experience and increase capacity."
Computer Fraud & Security September 1999 3723/99/$20.00 © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
