IP: Hacker Mitnick testifies before Congress

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> X-Mailer: exmh version 2.1.1 10/15/1999
> From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb () research att com>
> To: "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann () csl sri com>
>
> In message <CMM.0.90.4.952037858.neumann () chiron csl sri com>, "Peter G. 
> Neumann
> " writes:
>
> > Mitnick, 36, wearing a slightly ill-fitting navy suit and rocking gently in
> > a witness chair, warned lawmakers about his favored technique of ''social
> > engineering,'' or deceiving others into believing he could be trusted. He
> > told of duped victims at major corporations volunteering their 
> passwords and
> > even sending him secret software blueprints.
> >
> > ''I was so successful in that line of attack that I rarely had to resort to
> > a technical attack,'' Mitnick said. ''Companies can spend millions of
> > dollars toward technological protections and that's wasted if somebody can
> > basically call someone on the telephone and either convince them to do
> > something on the computer that lowers the computer's defenses or 
> reveals the
> > information they were seeking.''
>
> And today, he social-engineered his way into an appearance before a
> Congressional committee....
>
>                 --Steve Bellovin