Kevin Mitnick was placed in solitary confinement on the 27th December, 1996 for possessing reading materials related to hacking. Mitnick, whose hacking exploits and capture generated a media frenzy, is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. This is not the first time he has been placed in solitary there.
I heard of Mitnick's move to solitary through the following email, sent by a Fernanda Serpa (to Rich Burroughs) and cross-posted by Rich to the "Computer Underground Digest":
[Typographical faults corrected]
"URGENT!!!
KEVIN MITNICK WAS PLACED UNDER SOLITARY CONFINEMENT TODAY, DECEMBER 27TH, AT
1.00 PM, ON THE GROUNDS OF BEING A SECURITY RISK, DUE TO HIS READING LEGAL
BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT HE WAS EXERCISING HIS RIGHTS. WE ARE
AFRAID THAT THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED IN NORTH CAROLINA IS HAPPENING AGAIN
WHEN KEVIN WAS PLACED IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR 7 DAYS AND HAD TO WAIVE HIS
LEGAL RIGHTS IN ORDER TO BE RELEASED. WE KNOW THAT THE ONLY WAY THE FBI IS ABLE
TO PRESSURE KEVIN IS THROUGH SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. PLEASE, DO SOMETHING AND
INFORM THE PRESS URGENTLY ABOUT THIS SITUATION. WE ARE DOING OUR BEST HERE.
FERNANDA SERPA
SUPPORT KEVIN CAMPAIGN"
Serpa, who maintains a web site supporting Mitnick, further wrote that "We do not have details about yesterday's events concerning Kevin Mitnick ... His cell was searched, and his personal belongings were seized. MDC does not release any information whatsoever ... Due to the case backgrounds, we are concerned about Kevin's life and physical integrity."
These details have been confirmed by a source who is knowledgeable about the details of Mitnick's incarceration.
According to the source, Mitnick's additional punishment came after a search of his cell revealed written materials related to hacking, including back issues of 2600 magazine. The magazines were allegedly sent to Mitnick by Emmanuel Goldstein, editor of 2600. Prisoners are able to receive written materials if they are sent directly from the publisher, and those materials are routinely searched.
The reason the authorities gave for Mitnick's isolation? He's a "security risk."
This latest twist in Mitnick's case begs several questions: Why is Mitnick being punished for possessing materials that he received through legitimate prison channels? How can he possibly be a "security risk" when he has no access to computers, and can't even use a phone for anything but collect, operator-assisted calls? Why place a prisoner in solitary confinement for their choice of reading materials? And how much did Markoff and Shimomura really make off of Mitnick's bust?
Ironically, several recent issues of 2600 covered the imprisonment of Ed Cummings (aka Bernie S), a 2600 writer who was convicted of possessing a red box and software capable of cloning cell phones. Cummings, who was subjected to inhumane prison conditions, was attacked by another inmate after being transferred to a maximum security facility for "protective custody." He received a fractured jaw and arm in the incident, and was released soon after due to a grassroots protest campaign. Cummings served about a year and a half in jail.
Maybe Mitnick was reading 2600 to catch up on Cummings' case, or maybe he was reading about how to do a SYN flood, who knows? Either way, he wasn't going to be able to do much with the information while behind bars.
I'll try to pass on more news about Mitnick's situation, as it becomes available. Check back here for updates.
So just how much of a bad-guy is this enigma we know as Kevin Mitnick? Well, certainly his activities are illegal, but anyone who smokes grass can appreciate just how perverse some of our laws can be! Kevin has also been responsible for some malicious acts during his questionable career. Shimomura recorded Kevin's attempts to cause damage during his entrapment campaign. But is Kevin to be regarded as a threat to society? A master-criminal? A national-security hazard?
I cannot reasonably answer these questions as I can see the situation through the eyes of both Mitnick and the authorities. Let there be no mistake, Kevin Mitnick could have been responsible for initiating a catastrophe, he could have contributed to some major international event - in a negative way. The potential was always there, Kevin appears to have had the knowledge and the capability to do just about anything once he'd gained a foothold within a computer system - his mastery of UNIX was so highly developed that he could usurp the System's Manager of most sites he breached with ease, then credit himself as the Master of that installation. It is not hard to visualise just how much destructive power Kevin had at his fingertips.
BUT - he did not start World War III, he never shut down a hospital's computer system, he never took over the command of an air-traffic control system! I believe he could have done these things had his inclination leaned in these directions.
As I have said, Kevin appears to have a malicious streak, a split-personality ... Or does he? Or is it simply that Kevin likes to perpetrate a prank?
When I was student, I rewired the control-panel of my college's elevator. This simple trick provided me with much amusement when I pictured my peers selecting the fifth floor then being whisked down to the basement! Now you might also see the "funny side" of my prank, and laugh at my associate's subsequent confusion.
I was caught! The college's director "knew" immediately that I was responsible as it was "in character". I was taken before him and admitted my guilt, certain that he too would appreciate the humour of my deed.
I was shocked therefore, at the severity of my punishment and the recriminations I suffered at the hands of this man. That is, until he pointed out some of the other possible outcomes that might have followed my little joke. He asked me to consider how I might have felt had the lift failed. In re-wiring the control panel I had been very thorough - changing the function of every button and switch. The director then asked what would have happened when my hapless victim flicked the "Emergency Stop" switch, and I trembled as the full impact of my stupidity hit me. I had not maliciously performed this act, I'd "pulled a fast one", created a "great gag" and inadvertantly put people's lives at risk! Had someone died as a result of this, I would have had to live with my guilt until my death, and my victim's family would definitely not think it a funny prank. For a brief kick, I had endangered someone's life!
I digress only to illustrate that, whilst Kevin's activities may appear to be malicious - it could be that Kevin simply cannot visualise all the possible outcomes of his activities. That alone does not make him a bad-guy! It describes immaturity perhaps, but not a cold, merciless criminal! Personally, I don't think Kevin is as vindictive as the authorities would have us believe.
Kevin Mitnick is, first and foremost, a hacker. His sole aim, the understanding of computers, operating systems and software. His single quest - Knowledge.
Society today does not permit us the luxury of what has been called "intellectual curiosity". Kevin is not allowed to explore the networks purely because his instincts drive him there. It is a sad fact that the men of power do not want such obviously intelligent people to explore their world. If he (or any of us) were allowed complete freedom across the networks, where might curiosity have taken us?
When I think of Kevin Mitnick, I picture a man with a mind so enquiring and sharp and a man with an intellectual capacity way above average. It is men of Kevin's ilk who have been responsible for our greatest inventions and discoveries. This same breed of man became the first to conquer hostile terrain, to survive inhospitable surroundings, to travel faster, higher, deeper than ever before. Kevin is not an outlaw, he is an adventurer, an explorer, an inventer and a discoverer - all rolled into one. And this is the man our society, our law, our moral code has chosen to imprison, to persecute, to hound. Kevin will never fit comfortably into our society, because society no longer allows for individuality. Our race tolerates curiosity no more.
If Kevin's knowledge, skill, intelligence and curiosity had been recognised and exploited, he could have become a man who may have influenced our world so positively. He could have been such a great, nay monumental, contributor to our way of life. As it is, Kevin has made history, he will always be mentioned when network and computer security is discussed, he is a living legend!
The authorities, whilst trying to hide their ignorance and their lust for total control, gave the world Kevin the Hacker, Kevin the Criminal, Mitnick the Outcast, the misfit and so on - or so they thought. In reality, they have have created a martyr and an icon. A man, persecuted beyond fairness and justice, who suffered so much at their hands for such a neglible "crime". I can lay no blame on Kevin's head for his activities, I cannot curse him, nor hate him. I can only sympathise and salute him.
The men of power, the authorites, the ones in control must stop and look at Kevin from another angle. They should see not what they have created, but what they have lost. They should also realise that Kevin is not unique! He is not alone! Society must allow and provide for men of this calibre, or else there'll be hell to pay one day ...
If you feel that I have mis-represented Kevin Mitnick here, or that I am doing his case more harm than good then I want you to contact me as I wish him no ill. I would like nothing more than to see him acknowledged and pardoned. I really don't accept that he is deserving of the sorry position he now finds himself in.
Further, if you have any additional information about Kevin, or anecdotes or
anything at all you would like to share with me, then please send me your e-mails.