GHOST IN THE WIRES

I finished reading the biography of Mitkin's exploits versus mainly western based phone companies and their computer systems. I don't consider him to be a black or white hacker by modern day definition. He didn't travel via the internet, infiltrate, exploit and/or ruin the capacity to operate.

He became a 'phisher' as many, even including Wozniak and Jobs of Apple fame. It was in the challenge of the task that he fed his pride. He says that he didn't do it as a criminal enterprise even though there were funds made so he could devote more time to his 'craft'. His method was not an electronic intrusion but the oldest scam in the world, what he called 'social engineering' or more commonly called flim flam, confidence, or misrepresenting oneself to gain information. It was then that he used his talents as programmer to gather assets. He clearly was hooked on the game and paid dearly for it. But, in the end, his crime does pay as he morphed himself into doing what clearly was an obsession. He does now what he did before incarceration FOR corporations, to show they can ratchet up their security against people like him! Life is strange!

It was an interesting book depicting a modern day tale of 'the wild wild west' theme.