Hackers come in three different hats: black, white, and gray. But the black hat hackers always seem to get the most notoriety for their mischievous deeds. Black hats use viruses, malware, phishing scams, and anything to boost their cred or their pocket book. When they’re successful, they usually end up on the news and force you to change your passwords. But who among them are the elite? Here are 12 Most Notorious Hackers In History.
1. Stephen Wozniak
Before he and best buddy Steve Jobs founded Apple, they were up to all kinds of no good…including hacking mischief. Wozniak specifically called himself a white hat hacker, someone who likes to look into tech vulnerabilities and fix them. With an avid curiosity, he hacked into phone lines to make free phone calls, jammed televisions to trick his friends, and guessed his stepson’s password and played all kinds of pranks on him.
2. Albert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez led a network of cyber criminals on one of the largest breaches in network security ever. It was called “Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” He and the other thieves hacked 90 million debit and credit card numbers from TJX, a large clothing retailer. His goal was to steal $15 million, buy a yacht, and retire. Overall, they stole over $200 million. However, his dreams of buying and retiring were put on hold when a court convicted him of his cyber crimes. They sentenced him to twenty years in jail
3. Jeanson James Ancheta
At the age of 21, Jeanson James Ancheta organized a botnet scheme to hack into 400,000 compromised computer systems using malware. He received $104,000 from adverting firms for installing bots and adware on systems as well. But, after being caught, he was convicted and sentenced to 57 months in prison for violating the Computer Fraud Abuse Act.
4. Loyd Blankenship
Loyd Blankenship, also known as The Mentor, was a hacker notorious for writing “The Hacker’s Manifesto.” It appeared in Phrack magazine and became infamous in hacker circles for decades. Blankenship moved on from hacking but continued developing software into his later years.
5. Kevin Mitnick
At a young age, Kevin Mitnick became an infamous black hat hacker, a hacker exploiting systems for personal gain. He hacked into IBM, Nokia, Motorola, and many others. However, after being thrown into prison for his exploits, he came out turning his skills into a consultation business, helping others become more secure from hackers.
6. The Masters of Deception
The Masters of Deception was a New York hacker gang comprised of Mark Abene (Phiber Optik), Paul Stira (Scorpion), Elias Ladopolous (Acid Phreak), HAC, John Lee (Corrupt), and Julio Fernadez (Outlaw). Additional members came on as the group grew. In 1992, they orchestrated some of the most notorious hacks in history, including stealing credit card information and breaking into AT&Ts computer system. However, all five were arrested by the FBI; they all pled guilty.
7. Kevin Poulsen
Once regarded as a child prodigy, Kevin Poulsen, also known as Dark Dante, was the first hacker ever to be involved in an espionage case. In 1989, Poulsen was arrested for 19 counts of conspiracy, wiretapping, fraud, and money laundering. Of his infamous activities, he hacked into all the telephone lines of the KIIS-FM radio station to be the 102nd caller, winning a Porsche 944 S2. When the FBI went after him, he went underground as a fugitive. When Unsolved Mysteries ran an episode featuring him, the 1-800 phone lines all crashed. However, they eventually did catch him. He served 51 months in prison and later became an editor of Wired magazine.
8. Adrian Lamo
Adrian Lamo received notoriety for breaking into media and technology systems, including The New York Times, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Later, he became known as the hacker that informed on Chelsea Manning to Army Counterintelligence for leaking confidential documents to Wikileaks.
9. Robert Tappan Morris
While a student at Cornell, Robert Tappan Morris created a computer worm that infected 6,000 computers. He created it to see how big the internet was but realized what he was doing was wrong. Using public computers, he tried to cover his tracks but was eventually caught. He could have served jail time up to 5 years but didn’t serve any. Instead, he was sentenced to community service and a $10,000 fine.
10. Gary McKinnon
While some hackers break into systems to get money, Gary McKinnon was on another quest – finding UFO information from the government. In the 1990’s, he got his first computer and later received certification in computers. Between 2001 to 2002, McKinnon hacked into several US government agencies, including several NASA computer systems. He claims to have found documentation proving the existence of UFO’s and extraterrestrials. The US sought extradition to be tried in their courts, but the UK denied the request and would not seek charges against him, making him a free man.
11. John McAfee
John McAfee was a white hat hacker, working in the early days of computing and later building his computer virus protection business, McAfee. His business came to notoriety when it announced the Michelangelo virus could infect five million computers. However, he left the company eventually and sold all his shares for $100 million. Right now, most of his wealth is gone; he’s reportedly been up to no good in Belize.
12. Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev
Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, or Lucky12345, is currently wanted by the FBI with a bounty of $3 million on his head. He’s a notorious Russian hacker who uses phishing, malware, and viruses to skim bank account information from computers. Due to his exploits, financial losses so far have racked up to $100 million.
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