Although, arguably the most dangerous computer hacker, Kevin Mitnick has turned his life around for the better. Kevin Mitnick's early life helped shape his future dealing with computers and led him to a life of crime. The life he was leading was going to have to stop because he started hacking and breaking into computer systems. Finally, the law caught up to him, forcing him to serve many years in jail and never to touch a computer or modem again. His life now is a great one; he started his own computer security business and is on the right side of the law. .
Kevin Mitnick's early life was mischievous and full of trouble. His parents were divorced when he was the age of three. He lived with his mom, who worked as a waitress (Macnee 197). Also he lived in San Fernando Valley (L.A), where he had very few friends as a child. Kevin rarely saw his father, and his mother worked long hours and double shifts. That left Kevin with a lonely childhood. During his teenage years he started his life of crime. He began phone phreaking which uses electronics to illegally access phone services. While phreaking phones he became friends with other phone phreakers and often met with these friends at Shakey's Pizza Parlor in Los Angeles to plot ways to break into local computer and communications systems (Macnee 197).
Kevin's criminal life started when he was in his teen years while attending Monroe High School in North Hills California. He had access to the network where he could change students grades. He also reportedly hacked his way into the North American Air Defense Command computers in Colorado just for fun. When he was seventeen, he was caught stealing valuable technical manuals from Pacific Bell Telephone Company. A judge sentenced him to probation (Macnee 198). .
In spite of his brush with the law Mitnick returned to hacking. After he was caught breaking into computers at a local university, he was sentenced to six months in jail.
