Famous hacker Kevin Mitnick to pen autobiography

Kevin Mitnick, the infamous computer hacker who was sentenced to solitary confinement in 1999 after prosecutors spun stories of his ability to "start a nuclear war by whistling into a telephone," has signed a deal with Little, Brown and Company to publish his autobiography.

"Finally I get to tell my side," said Mitnick to an 800-strong crowd at the Hackers on Planet Earth conference, later explaining that the conditions of his parole had prevented him from profiting from his crimes until now.

Mitnick specialized in hacking humans, not machines, and popularized the term "social engineering" to describe it - pointing out it is far easier to trick someone into handing over sensitive information than it is to compromise a computer system.

The most famous book about Kevin Mitnick is Cyberpunk by Katie Hafter and John Markoff, which Mitnick has openly criticized for creating "the myth of Kevin Mitnick" - the man who hacked the computers at NORAD despite those computers not being connected to any network outside the building.

Needless to say, the book is sure to be a great yarn. We'll be keeping an eye on this one, so stay tuned for more.

Uber-Hacker Kevin Mitnick Signs Tell-All Book Deal [Silicon Valley Insider via Techmeme] [Image]