Kevin Poulsen
Encyclopedia
Kevin Lee Poulsen is a former black hat
hacker. He is currently News Editor at Wired.com.
whose handle
was Dark Dante. He worked for SRI International
by day, and hacked at night. During this time, Poulsen taught himself lock picking
, and engaged in a brash spree of high-tech stunts that would ultimately make him one of America's best-known cyber-criminals. Among other things, Poulsen reactivated old Yellow Page
escort telephone numbers for an acquaintance that then ran a virtual escort agency.
His best-appreciated hack was a takeover of all of the telephone lines for Los Angeles
radio
station KIIS-FM
, guaranteeing that he would be the 102nd caller and win the prize of a Porsche 944 S2.
When the FBI
started pursuing Poulsen, he went underground as a fugitive. When he was featured on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries
, the show's 1-800
telephone lines mysteriously crashed. He was finally arrested in April 1991. In June 1994, Poulsen pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail, wire and computer fraud, money laundering
, and obstruction of justice, and was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $56,000 in restitution. At the time, it was the longest sentence ever given for cracking. He also pleaded guilty to breaking into computers and obtaining information on undercover businesses run by the FBI.
Poulsen enjoyed brief celebrity in the tech world upon his release from federal prison, and was the subject of the book Watchman: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Serial Hacker Kevin Poulsen, a work which Poulsen himself has decried.
Poulsen has reinvented himself as a journalist
since his release from prison, and sought to distance himself from his criminal past. Poulsen served in a number of journalistic capacities at California-based security research firm SecurityFocus, where he began writing security and hacking news in early 2000. Despite a late arrival to a market saturated with technology media, SecurityFocus News became a well-known name in the tech news world during Poulsen's tenure with the company and was acquired by Symantec. His original investigative reporting was frequently picked up by the mainstream press. Poulsen left SecurityFocus in 2005 to freelance and pursue independent writing projects. He became a senior editor for Wired News in June 2005, which hosts his recent blog, 27BStroke6, which has since been renamed Threat Level.
s using MySpace
to solicit sex from children. His work identified 744 registered persons with MySpace profiles, and led to the arrest of one, Andrew Lubrano.
.
Black hat
A black hat is the villain or bad guy, especially in a western movie in which such a character would stereotypically wear a black hat in contrast to the hero's white hat, especially in black and white movies....
hacker. He is currently News Editor at Wired.com.
Biography
Before segueing into journalism, he had a controversial career in the 1980s as a hackerBlack hat
A black hat is the villain or bad guy, especially in a western movie in which such a character would stereotypically wear a black hat in contrast to the hero's white hat, especially in black and white movies....
whose handle
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
was Dark Dante. He worked for SRI International
SRI International
SRI International , founded as Stanford Research Institute, is one of the world's largest contract research institutes. Based in Menlo Park, California, the trustees of Stanford University established it in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic development in the region. It was later...
by day, and hacked at night. During this time, Poulsen taught himself lock picking
Lock picking
Lock picking is the art of unlocking a lock by analyzing and manipulating the components of the lock device, without the original key. Although lock picking can be associated with criminal intent, it is an essential skill for a locksmith...
, and engaged in a brash spree of high-tech stunts that would ultimately make him one of America's best-known cyber-criminals. Among other things, Poulsen reactivated old Yellow Page
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
escort telephone numbers for an acquaintance that then ran a virtual escort agency.
His best-appreciated hack was a takeover of all of the telephone lines for Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
station KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
, guaranteeing that he would be the 102nd caller and win the prize of a Porsche 944 S2.
When the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
started pursuing Poulsen, he went underground as a fugitive. When he was featured on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...
, the show's 1-800
Toll-free telephone number
A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, 800, 0800 or 1-800 number is a special telephone number which is free to the calling party, and instead the telephone carrier charges the called party the cost of the call...
telephone lines mysteriously crashed. He was finally arrested in April 1991. In June 1994, Poulsen pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail, wire and computer fraud, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, and obstruction of justice, and was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $56,000 in restitution. At the time, it was the longest sentence ever given for cracking. He also pleaded guilty to breaking into computers and obtaining information on undercover businesses run by the FBI.
Poulsen enjoyed brief celebrity in the tech world upon his release from federal prison, and was the subject of the book Watchman: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Serial Hacker Kevin Poulsen, a work which Poulsen himself has decried.
Poulsen has reinvented himself as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
since his release from prison, and sought to distance himself from his criminal past. Poulsen served in a number of journalistic capacities at California-based security research firm SecurityFocus, where he began writing security and hacking news in early 2000. Despite a late arrival to a market saturated with technology media, SecurityFocus News became a well-known name in the tech news world during Poulsen's tenure with the company and was acquired by Symantec. His original investigative reporting was frequently picked up by the mainstream press. Poulsen left SecurityFocus in 2005 to freelance and pursue independent writing projects. He became a senior editor for Wired News in June 2005, which hosts his recent blog, 27BStroke6, which has since been renamed Threat Level.
MySpace investigation
In October 2006, Poulsen released information detailing his successful search for registered sex offenderSex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
s using MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
to solicit sex from children. His work identified 744 registered persons with MySpace profiles, and led to the arrest of one, Andrew Lubrano.
Poulsen's Law
- Kevin Poulsen said Poulsen's Law is: Information is secure when it costs more to get than its worth.
Role in Bradley Manning case
Kevin Poulsen broke the initial story of Bradley Manning's arrest and published the logs of Bradley Manning's incriminating chats with Adrian LamoAdrian Lamo
Adrian Lamo is a threat analyst and "grey hat" hacker. He first gained media attention for breaking into several high-profile computer networks, including those of The New York Times, Yahoo!, and Microsoft, culminating in his 2003 arrest...
.
Awards
- 2011 Webby Award (International Academy of Digital Arts and SciencesInternational Academy of Digital Arts and SciencesThe International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences or IADAS was founded in 1998 in New York to help drive the progress of the Internet and evolving forms of new media. The academy selects the nominees and winners for the Webby Awards, and their European equivalent, the Lovie Awards.Membership...
), Law category, for Threat Level http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=15 - 2011 Webby Award (International Academy of Digital Arts and SciencesInternational Academy of Digital Arts and SciencesThe International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences or IADAS was founded in 1998 in New York to help drive the progress of the Internet and evolving forms of new media. The academy selects the nominees and winners for the Webby Awards, and their European equivalent, the Lovie Awards.Membership...
), People's Voice award, Law category, for Threat Level http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=15 - 2010 SANS Top Cyber Security Journalists (SANS InstituteSANS InstituteThe SANS Institute is a private US company that specializes in internet security training. It was founded in 1989, provides computer security training, professional certification through Global Information Assurance Certification , and a research archive - the SANS Reading Room...
) http://www.sans.org/top-journalists/ - 2010, MIN Best of the Web (Magazine Industry Newsletter), Best Blog, for Threat Level http://www.minonline.com/awards/bestofweb10/
- 2009, MIN Digital Hall of Fame (Magazine Industry Newsletter), Inductee http://www.minonline.com/best_of_web/Digital-Hall-of-Fame-Kevin-Poulson-Senior-Editor-Wired-com_10282.html
- 2008, Knight-Batten Award for Innovation in Journalism (J-Lab) Grand Prize http://www.j-lab.org/projects/knight-batten-awards-for-innovations-in-journalism/2008
Further reading
- Jonathan Littman, The Watchman: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Serial Hacker Kevin Poulsen, 1997, publisher: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-52857-9
External links
- KevinPoulsen.com; Personal web presence by Poulsen.
- Threat Level (former 27BStroke6) Blog by Kevin Poulsen and Ryan SingelRyan SingelRyan Singel is a San Francisco-based blogger and journalist covering tech business, tech policy, civil liberty and privacy issues. His work has appeared extensively in Wired.com, and Singel co-founded the Threat Level blog with journalist and convicted hacker Kevin Lee Poulsen...