Kevin Mitnick, who was once considered as one of the world's most wanted computer hackers, has died after fighting pancreatic cancer for 14 months. Kevin was 59.
His obituary mentioned: "Kevin David Mitnick, 59, died peacefully on Sunday, July 16, 2023, after valiantly battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. Kevin is survived by his beloved wife, Kimberley Mitnick, who remained by his side throughout their 14-month ordeal. Kimberley is pregnant with their first child. Kevin was ecstatic about this new chapter in his and Kimberley's life together, which has now been sadly cut short."
"Kevin was an original; much of his life reads like a fiction story. The word that most of us who knew him would use – magnificent," it said.
"When his desire to push boundaries led him too far astray, he landed in juvenile detention and eventually served a couple of stints in prison. His time on the FBI's Most Wanted List was well documented in his New York Times bestselling book, The Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker, and his other titles: The Art of Deception, The Art of Intrusion, both co-authored with William Simon, and The Art of Invisibility with Robert Vamosi," the obituary mentioned.
Kevin Mitnick is best known for his high-profile 1995 arrest and five year prison time for various computer and communications-related crimes.
Mitnick's pursuit, arrest, trial, and sentence along with the associated journalism, books, and films were all controversial.
After his release from prison, he ran his own security firm, Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC, and was also involved with other computer security businesses.
After his release in 2000, Mitnick became a paid security consultant, public speaker, and author.
He carried out security consulting, performed penetration testing services, and taught social engineering classes to companies and government agencies.
He ran Mitnick Security Consulting LLC, a computer security consultancy and was part owner of KnowBe4, a provider of an integrated platform for security awareness training and simulated phishing testing, as well as an active advisory board member at Zimperium, a firm that develops a mobile intrusion prevention system.
His wife Kimberley Mitnick tweeted: " My love. Till we see each other again, I know you are here with me. I hear your voice. Our son will know you and I am convinced he will be a mini you. I am grateful we have so many friends all over the world who will teach our son how to hack and more importantly who the real Kevin Mitnick was. Our little one …our legacy."
Reacting to his death, David Kennedy, Binary Defense and TrustedSec CEO, tweeted: " Kevin will be sorely missed. I don’t even know what to type here other than this last year was extremely tough for him but he fought everyday and we all knew Kevin was a fighter and had hope he would beat it because he was that incredible of a person."
"I remember the day he found out the news, he called me and was terrified of the diagnosis. My heart dropped, but this was Kevin – he could do anything and I knew he would fight this until the very end," he said.
David further wrote: "We miss you dude, you pioneered an industry, helped others, and made me a better person. I know we’ll meet again someday."