5 ms·

umm, is there anybody here who doesn't know who Mitnick is? well, in that case, his 'the art of deception' is an interesting book on social engineering.

by zalew 14y ago

subsystem 14y ago
The second to last paragraph especially highlight federal cases being blown out of proportion, even ten years ago.
- zalew 14y ago
  if you're interested in hacker stories there is one a bit less mainstream about Max Butler, 'Kingpin', it's a really great read (more like a criminal thriller than a nerd bio). long story short a very talented but very troubled white/grayhat hacker became a victim of the justice system and later on turned into a blackhat who got to the top of the cc fraud empire. he's currently serving his 13.
  - packetslave 14y ago
    Also written by a fairly notorious former hacker, Kevin Poulson.
    - zalew 14y ago
      yep. here's his article[1] which is basically a TLDR (or teaser) for the book, but I'd recommend people read the book without spoilers, more fun (I didn't know the story details when I bought the book). [1] http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/ff_max_butler?currentPage=all http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/ff_max_bu...
pavelludiq 14y ago
"Ghost in the wires", his auto-biography, was also a great read. It was very entertaining, and certainly worth a re-read when I have the time. It reads like a cyberpunk thriller set in the 80's and 90's, except it's not fiction.
- GFischer 14y ago
  I read "The Art of Deception", it was eye-opening for me - I was pretty naïve * and didn't realize the true danger of social engineering. I'll add "Ghost in the Wire" to my to-read list :) * I'm probably still naïve but hopefully a little bit less so
zalthor 14y ago
Yep, I remember reading it a long time ago. Quite a fun read.
jimmytucson 14y ago
Hey, it never occurred to me that there are people here who don't know Mentor's last words but they too were on the front page recently. It also never occurred to me that I'm almost 30. :( Brings a damn tear to my eye seeing hacker culture get remembered by the newbs.
- alaskamiller 14y ago
  You know those old Apple stories on forklore.org? That's how those people felt about you. And soon these tiny details will get lost in the fray. It's something we humans are good at. Smushing events, things, people, happenings into a ball, condensing it over time into a singular emotive feeling, of happiness, sadness, of acceptance or rejection. And winners write the history so they have a good head start. And the rest of us, especially now, are just media creators that contribute to the narrative contributing to that binary feeling of happiness or sadness, of acceptance or rejection. And in a few more cycles most of it won't matter. Not the drama that rise on here, not the bullshit that happens at the parties, not yelling, screaming, not the kindness, nor mercy sometimes. It won't matter. As long as that condensed emotion in your heart is agreeable. Because that's what we are. Humans being fed stories, "real" or "fake" until we die.
  - dasil003 14y ago
    I disagree. Everything that happens is relevant. The fact that we forget it is just the mechanism by which we are able to focus on the here and now. Stories and emotions are just the way to extend our useful memories. Our limits as entities don't say much about the nature of the universe. I choose to believe that time might as well be an illusion and our deeds might be considered to live "forever". This is just a guideline to help me lead the life I want.
- LandoCalrissian 14y ago
  It was an interesting time. The internet was there but the phone network hadn't faded into obscurity yet, so phreaking was still a thing. 2600, Cult of the Dead Cow, Phreak and many more were fun sources for mischief and information. I can honestly say that they all greatly increased my interest in programming and computers, setting me on my future path for life. There isn't a lot like that anymore which is a little sad, but I look upon it fondly. The internet had to grow up at some point I guess.
readme 14y ago
"social engineering" is a euphemism for con artistry
- Intermernet 14y ago
  Or politics, advertising/marketing, making new friends, being popular in school etc. It's one of those terms that really doesn't add to the lexicon, rather it vaguely describes a large group of activities while sounding educated. Unfortunately, as more and more people use terms like these, the definitions become looser and the meaning less evident. Ah well, thusly does language evolve...

umm, is there anybody here who doesn't know who Mitnick is? well, in that case, his 'the art of deception' is an interesting book on social engineering.

by zalew 14y ago

umm, is there anybody here who doesn't know who Mitnick is? well, in that case, his 'the art of deception' is an interesting book on social engineering.

subsystem 14y ago

The second to last paragraph especially highlight federal cases being blown out of proportion, even ten years ago.

zalew 14y ago
if you're interested in hacker stories there is one a bit less mainstream about Max Butler, 'Kingpin', it's a really great read (more like a criminal thriller than a nerd bio). long story short a very talented but very troubled white/grayhat hacker became a victim of the justice system and later on turned into a blackhat who got to the top of the cc fraud empire. he's currently serving his 13.
- packetslave 14y ago
  Also written by a fairly notorious former hacker, Kevin Poulson.
  - zalew 14y ago
    yep. here's his article[1] which is basically a TLDR (or teaser) for the book, but I'd recommend people read the book without spoilers, more fun (I didn't know the story details when I bought the book). [1] http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/ff_max_butler?currentPage=all http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/ff_max_bu...

pavelludiq 14y ago

"Ghost in the wires", his auto-biography, was also a great read. It was very entertaining, and certainly worth a re-read when I have the time. It reads like a cyberpunk thriller set in the 80's and 90's, except it's not fiction.

GFischer 14y ago
I read "The Art of Deception", it was eye-opening for me - I was pretty naïve * and didn't realize the true danger of social engineering. I'll add "Ghost in the Wire" to my to-read list :) * I'm probably still naïve but hopefully a little bit less so

zalthor 14y ago

Yep, I remember reading it a long time ago. Quite a fun read.

jimmytucson 14y ago

Hey, it never occurred to me that there are people here who don't know Mentor's last words but they too were on the front page recently. It also never occurred to me that I'm almost 30. :( Brings a damn tear to my eye seeing hacker culture get remembered by the newbs.

alaskamiller 14y ago
You know those old Apple stories on forklore.org? That's how those people felt about you. And soon these tiny details will get lost in the fray. It's something we humans are good at. Smushing events, things, people, happenings into a ball, condensing it over time into a singular emotive feeling, of happiness, sadness, of acceptance or rejection. And winners write the history so they have a good head start. And the rest of us, especially now, are just media creators that contribute to the narrative contributing to that binary feeling of happiness or sadness, of acceptance or rejection. And in a few more cycles most of it won't matter. Not the drama that rise on here, not the bullshit that happens at the parties, not yelling, screaming, not the kindness, nor mercy sometimes. It won't matter. As long as that condensed emotion in your heart is agreeable. Because that's what we are. Humans being fed stories, "real" or "fake" until we die.
- dasil003 14y ago
  I disagree. Everything that happens is relevant. The fact that we forget it is just the mechanism by which we are able to focus on the here and now. Stories and emotions are just the way to extend our useful memories. Our limits as entities don't say much about the nature of the universe. I choose to believe that time might as well be an illusion and our deeds might be considered to live "forever". This is just a guideline to help me lead the life I want.
LandoCalrissian 14y ago
It was an interesting time. The internet was there but the phone network hadn't faded into obscurity yet, so phreaking was still a thing. 2600, Cult of the Dead Cow, Phreak and many more were fun sources for mischief and information. I can honestly say that they all greatly increased my interest in programming and computers, setting me on my future path for life. There isn't a lot like that anymore which is a little sad, but I look upon it fondly. The internet had to grow up at some point I guess.

readme 14y ago

"social engineering" is a euphemism for con artistry

Intermernet 14y ago
Or politics, advertising/marketing, making new friends, being popular in school etc. It's one of those terms that really doesn't add to the lexicon, rather it vaguely describes a large group of activities while sounding educated. Unfortunately, as more and more people use terms like these, the definitions become looser and the meaning less evident. Ah well, thusly does language evolve...