I was aware of Kevin Mitnick’s status as the most wanted hacker since my first year in college. The book is an excellent narrative on how he became the world’s most wanted hacker.

I have no issues whatsoever with his incessant need to hack as a way to understand computers and systems. I also understand his belief that each new challenge was not for profit, but simply to see if he could do something.

The book is a great reminder to me, and for anyone that reads it that the weakest link in computer security is the human sitting in the chair. There is nothing as exploitable as each other. And this is really where the separation for White hat vs. Black Hat comes in, social engineering is a devious and nefarious activity. Unless specifically hired for a company to do pen-testing, any use of social engineering is in my mind highly unethical.

I lack the drive necessary to take advantage of the trust people place in me. I still believe that technology is meant to help humanity, and can’t bring myself to exploit for personal gain. And perhaps that is why I will never be the world’s most wanted hacker.