Former hacker now signs autographs for fans ------------------------------------------- From hacker to prisoner, and now to celebrity Carrie Kirby, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, April 21, 2003 Kevin Mitnick's schedule used to be set by his prison guards. These days, it's set by his agent. Mitnick, the world's most notorious hacker, who led federal agents on an electronic manhunt and then spent five years in prison for breaking into corporate and government computer systems, is now one of the tech world's biggest celebrities. He has appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "Good Morning America," he had a guest spot on the ABC spy thriller "Alias" (ironically, playing a fed), and he's in talks to appear in a pending film about another tech wizard who had legal troubles: Napster's Shawn Fanning. Mitnick, 39, breezed through San Francisco last week to attend the RSA Security trade show and to autograph a few copies of his book, "The Art of Deception." The book warns security officers not to fall for the kind of nontechnical ruses he was famous for, like calling up a company posing as an employee to get secret source code. He also made a speech and sat on a couple of security panel discussions, taking the opportunity at one to promote a couple more ventures: his quarterly publication, the Mitnicknewsletter, and his security conference series. On stage, Mitnick is polished, well groomed in a suit and tie, and appears at ease with his former adversaries -- corporate security experts and lawmen. On one panel discussion, he actually shared the stage with his former prosecutor, Chris Painter, with little apparent animosity. The fact Mitnick has a publicity agent tends to get tech industry folks rolling their eyes -- "I thought it was a little over the top," commented one public relations person who had to negotiate with the agent to arrange an RSA appearance. Yet Mitnick seems down to earth. With the fans who clamor for his signature and photos with him, he's chatty and patient. "For the most part, we have a pretty normal life," said Mitnick's girlfriend, Darci Wood, who lives with him and her 7-year-old daughter in Thousand Oaks (Ventura County). Wood, who met Mitnick while she was working for TechTV in San Francisco, now works full time helping Mitnick schedule and prepare for appearances. Wood writes a Web log, or online journal, which often catalogs Mitnick's activities, at www.labmistress.com. At RSA, an admirer from Denver prompted Mitnick to start a story with a preamble one seldom hears at computer conferences: "When I was a fugitive . . . " Mitnick told how, while on the lam in 1994, he worked as a technician at a Denver law firm, which was handy because it gave him access to a legal library where he could research his situation after work. Mitnick's three-year probation ended in January, allowing him once again to access the Internet. He started a security consulting firm with a partner, Alex Kasper, to use his gift for finding secret entrances into networks for legitimate purposes. Mitnick's skills at hacking developed while growing up in the Los Angeles area with his single mother, whose long hours at work left him unsupervised, according to his book. At the age of 12, he figured out that he could travel free anywhere in Los Angeles by salvaging unused bus transfers from the trash and marking them with the kind of hole punch the drivers used. Later, he graduated to phone phreaking, or hacking the phone system to make free calls and explore the telecommunications network. By high school, Mitnick was a full-fledged computer hacker. Mitnick says the main value he offers clients is the security expertise he developed through his years of exploration. But at this point, Mitnick said, he earns 75 percent of his income from public appearances. He pulls in $10,000 to $15,000 a pop. Mitnick, who says he has repented of his "black hat" hacker days, doesn't feel that there's anything unseemly about living off his notoriety now. "I don't construe it as profiting from committing crimes," he said. "I happen to be notorious. That, I have no control over. It happens to be in an area where I abused my skills. . . . Now I'm using them in a successful way." He added, "If I were to write a story describing the crime, that would be profiting from it." Not that he's averse to doing that. The terms of his sentence forbid him from selling his own story until January 2010. But, he said, "I had two meetings with people in Hollywood who want to do the Kevin Mitnick story. . . . Hollywood wants to hire attorneys to challenge the restriction." But Mitnick has plenty to keep him busy if that doesn't happen. He's planning to star in a couple of instructional security videos he's making with actor and director Kevin Spacey ("Albino Alligator"). He's in talks to publish a second book on security advice and to teach a course based on his first book. Then there's the book tour of the Czech Republic he's got lined up. In fact, he's as big a star -- if not bigger in some cases -- overseas as he is here, as became apparent during his recent book tour in Poland. "They had seven bodyguards to hold the crowd back," he said, grinning. "They were a communist regime until 12 years ago or so, so anybody that outsmarted the government was a hero." Of course, Mitnick didn't outsmart the government forever. After what the Department of Justice described as "a 2 1/2-year computer hacking spree," the feds tracked him down -- with the help of a rival hacker -- in North Carolina in 1995. As part of a plea bargain, Mitnick later admitted to breaking into computer systems and stealing secret software code from Motorola, Novell, Fujitsu, Sun Microsystems and other companies. He spent five years locked up in the Federal Correctional Institute in Lompoc (Santa Barbara County). "I'm not a fugitive anymore. Never will be in the future," he said, no longer smiling. "After spending five years in jail, you learn your lesson. I never want to return there." E-mail Carrie Kirby at ckirby@sfchronicle.com. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/21/BU280396.DTL