The Top 10 Notorious Computer Hackers of All Time

H - Hide IP
A - Aim Victim
C - Crack Encrypt
K - Kill Firewall
E - Enter into Database
R - Return Anonymous

10. Mark Abene

Mark Abene was a member of a hacking group known as the Legion of Doom and later the Masters of Deception. He and his hacking group sought to understand how early mainframe systems operated and hacked into various telecommunications.

Mark Abene is an Infosys expert and an entrepreneur.

9. Michael Calce

Michael Calce, also known as "MafiaBoy," is one of the most notorious computer hackers. With the help of denial-of-service attacks, Michael Calce was only 15 years old when he shut down popular websites like CNN, Dell, Amazon, E*Trade, Yahoo and eBay for several hours. He was sentenced to eight months of open custody, a year of probation and a small fine. Michael Calce now works as a "white-hat hacker" to help companies with online security.

8. Robert Tappan Morris -

Robert Tappan Morris is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur, best known for creating the first Morris Worm in 1988. The worm affected 6,000 Unix machines, causing millions of dollars in damage. Morris was eventually caught, given three years of probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

7. George Hotz -

George Francis Hotz, the 24-year old New Jersey-born hacker, is best known for unlocking the first Sony's PlayStation 3 and Apple's iPhone. He was 17 years old when he hacked the iPhone [2005]. He also released multiple jailbreaks, including "purplera1n" for the iPhone 3GS. He has also worked with Facebook and Google Hotz, saying he still hacks because he's "bored."

Google has paid him $150,000 for finding the security vulnerability in the Google Chrome browser.

6. Albert Gonzalez

Albert Gonzalez is a notorious American computer hacker and computer criminal. Albert Gonzalez was the mastermind behind the biggest ATM and credit card thefts in history. The crime is believed to be the largest retail-store theft in U.S. history. Albert Gonzalez and his group allegedly sold more than 170 million cards and ATM numbers from 2005 to 2007.

When Albert Gonzalez was arrested, authorities seized $1.6 million in cash, the biggest such fraud in history.

Top 10 Certified Ethical Hackers In India

5. Jonathan James

Jonathan James is a 16-year-old American black hat hacker. He was the first juvenile sent to prison for hacking. At the age of 15 [in 1999], he damaged NASA Systems and the Department of Defense, costing them $41,000 to fix the system. Jonathan James stole software from NASA, which was worth over $1.7 million. Other than that, he hacked into the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

On May 18, 2008, at the age of 25, James committed suicide by using a gun.

4. Gary Mckinnon

Gary Mckinnon, born on February 10, 1996, is a Scottish system administrator and computer hacker. Gary McKinnon hacked the US Department of Defense, Navy, Army, Air Force, and NASA computers. According to U.S. authorities, he deleted several critical files, rendering over 300 computers inoperable. The U.S. claims that McKinnon's hack job cost them 700,000 to fix. McKinnon also posted a notice on the military's website: "Your security is crap." The reason why he tried to hack into the US military and NASA computers is that he believed the U.S. government was hiding alien technology that could solve the global energy crisis.

3. Adrian Lamo

Nicknamed "the Homeless Hacker," Adrian Lamo was born on February 20, 1981, and is an American thread analyst and grey-hat hacker.

Adrian Lamo is known for hacking the computer networks of Microsoft, Yahoo, The New York Times, and MCI WorldCom, where he inserted his contact info into their database of experts. Lamo Adrian Lamo served 2 years of probation and now works as a tech journalist.

Adrian Lamo-Wikipedia

Adrain Lamo-twitter.com/6

2. Kevin Poulsen

Kevin Poulsen is a senior editor at tech-savvy Wired magazine, but back in the 80s, he was a notorious computer hacker. He hacked into the phone lines of a radio station that allowed him to be the 102nd caller (phone-phreaking), which led him to win a brand new Porsche 944, among other prizes. Kevin Poulsen also tried to hack the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) database in 1991, but somehow he got arrested and went to prison for 5 years.

Kevin Poulsen - Wikipedia

1. Kevin Mitnick

Kevin David Mitnick was born on August 6, 1963, and is an American computer security consultant, hacker, and author. Kevin Mitnick was declared the "Most Wanted Computer Criminal in U.S. History." Kevin Mitnick has damaged communication networks like Motorola, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, etc. He has also damaged DEC System (Digital Equipment Corporation) networks to steal their networks. Kevin Mitnick was jailed twice for his crimes, once in 1998 and then again from 1995 to 2000. He is the author of two books: The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security and The Art of Intrusion-The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders, and Deceivers. Kevin Mitnick does not like being called a hacker; he instead claims to be a social engineer.

Kevin Mitnick is one of the most notorious computer hackers of all time.

Kevin Mitnick - Wikipedia

Other well-known computer hackers throughout history

Richard Stallman

Vladimir Levi,

David Smith

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The Top 10 Notorious Computer Hackers of All Time