The Hacker Payoff; Youth Seduced
Monday, 15 March 2004 18:21 EST
Who says crime doesn't pay? Kevin Mitnick, variously referred to as "the most notorious hacker" or "the best hacker on the planet," served almost 60 months in prison in the late 1990s for computer fraud. Mitnick plea-bargained a release in 2000, and in 2002 he published a book called The Art Of Deception, about social engineering and the human element in hacking. Now Mitnick is writing another book. As part of his plea bargain, Mitnick is prevented from detailing his own hacking exploits till 2010.
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University last week published the results of a comScore Media Metrix analysis that shows young people flock to Web sites sponsored by alcohol companies. The analysis found that in the last six months of last year there were 700,000 "in-depth visits" to alcohol-company Web sites by people under the drinking age. Apparently, young people are attracted by interactive games on the sites as well as downloadable music. And the software used by alcohol sites to limit access by underage visitors is largely ineffective. "These alcohol Web sites are a virtual cyberplayground with no adult supervision," John O'Hara, executive director of the center, said in a statement.
Read Full Story