Tsutomu Shimomura
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese scientist
and computer security
expert based in the United States
, who became an instant celebrity when he, together with computer journalist
John Markoff
, tracked down and helped the FBI arrest hacker
Kevin Mitnick
.
Takedown, his 1996 book on the subject, was later adapted for the screen in Takedown
in 2000.
, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He grew up in Princeton, New Jersey
and attended Princeton High School
.
At Caltech he studied under Nobel laureate Richard Feynman
. After Caltech, he went on to work at Los Alamos National Laboratory
, where he continued his hands-on education in the position of staff physicist with Brosl Hasslacher
and others on subjects such as Lattice Gas Automata.
In 1989, he became a research scientist in computational physics at the University of California at San Diego, and senior fellow at the San Diego Supercomputer Center
. Shimomura also became a noted computer security expert, working for the National Security Agency
.
In 1992, he testified before Congress on issues regarding the privacy and security (or lack thereof) on cellular telephones.
He is best known for events in 1995, when he assisted with tracking down the "computer hacker" Kevin Mitnick
. Shimomura and journalist John Markoff
wrote a book, Takedown, about the pursuit, and the book was later adapted into a movie of the same name.
Shimomura worked for Sun Microsystems
during the late 1990s.
Shimomura presently lives in the Reno/Tahoe area.
Author Bruce Sterling
described his first meeting with Shimomura in the documentary Freedom Downtime
:
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and computer security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
expert based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who became an instant celebrity when he, together with computer 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...
John Markoff
John Markoff
John Markoff is a journalist best known for his work at The New York Times, and a book and series of articles about the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.- Biography :...
, tracked down and helped the FBI arrest hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick
Kevin David Mitnick is a computer security consultant, author, and hacker. In the late 20th century, he was convicted of various computer- and communications-related crimes. At the time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States.-Personal life:Mitnick grew up in...
.
Takedown, his 1996 book on the subject, was later adapted for the screen in Takedown
Takedown (film)
Track Down, also known as Takedown outside the USA, is a 2000 film about computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, based on the book Takedown by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura...
in 2000.
Biography
Born in Japan, Shimomura is the son of Osamu ShimomuraOsamu Shimomura
is a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist, and Professor Emeritus at Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and Boston University Medical School...
, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He grew up in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
and attended Princeton High School
Princeton High School (New Jersey)
Princeton High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Princeton Regional Schools district, which serves all public school students in the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township...
.
At Caltech he studied under Nobel laureate Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
. After Caltech, he went on to work at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, where he continued his hands-on education in the position of staff physicist with Brosl Hasslacher
Brosl Hasslacher
Brosl Hasslacher was a theoretical physicist.Brosl Hasslacher obtained a bachelor's in physics from Harvard University in 1962. He did his Ph.D. with D.Z. Freeman and C.N. Yang at the State University of New York at Stony Brook...
and others on subjects such as Lattice Gas Automata.
In 1989, he became a research scientist in computational physics at the University of California at San Diego, and senior fellow at the San Diego Supercomputer Center
San Diego Supercomputer Center
The San Diego Supercomputer Center is an organized research unit of the University of California, San Diego . Physically, SDSC is located on the east end of Eleanor Roosevelt College on the campus of UCSD....
. Shimomura also became a noted computer security expert, working for the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
.
In 1992, he testified before Congress on issues regarding the privacy and security (or lack thereof) on cellular telephones.
He is best known for events in 1995, when he assisted with tracking down the "computer hacker" Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick
Kevin David Mitnick is a computer security consultant, author, and hacker. In the late 20th century, he was convicted of various computer- and communications-related crimes. At the time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States.-Personal life:Mitnick grew up in...
. Shimomura and journalist John Markoff
John Markoff
John Markoff is a journalist best known for his work at The New York Times, and a book and series of articles about the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.- Biography :...
wrote a book, Takedown, about the pursuit, and the book was later adapted into a movie of the same name.
Shimomura worked for Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
during the late 1990s.
Shimomura presently lives in the Reno/Tahoe area.
Author Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
described his first meeting with Shimomura in the documentary Freedom Downtime
Freedom Downtime
Freedom Downtime is a 2001 documentary film sympathetic to the convicted computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, directed by Emmanuel Goldstein and produced by 2600 Films....
:
Criticism
Kevin Mitnick and others have raised legal and ethical questions concerning Shimomura's involvement in his case. California author Jonathan Littman wrote a 1997 book about the case called The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick, in which he presented Mitnick's side of the story which was a very different version from the events written in Shimomura and Markoff's Takedown. In his book, Littman made allegations of journalistic impropriety against Markoff and of the legality of Shimomura's involvement in the matter, as well as suggesting that many parts of Takedown were made up for self-serving purposes by its authors. Mitnick's autobiography, Ghost in the Wires, further expands on concerns that Shimomura's involvement in the case was both unethical and illegal.Writing credits
- Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw—By the Man Who Did It (with John MarkoffJohn MarkoffJohn Markoff is a journalist best known for his work at The New York Times, and a book and series of articles about the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.- Biography :...
), 1996, Hyperion Books. ISBN 0-7868-6210-6- French title: Cybertraque, 1998, ISBN 2-259-18402-2
- Dutch title: De klopjacht, 1996, ISBN 90-254-0639-4
- German Title: Data Zone - Die Hackerjagd im Internet, 1996, ISBN 3-423-15101-3
- "Minimal Key Lengths for Symmetric Ciphers to Provide Adequate Commercial Security", January 1996 (co-authors: Shimomura, Bruce SchneierBruce SchneierBruce Schneier is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. He is the author of several books on general security topics, computer security and cryptography, and is the founder and chief technology officer of BT Managed Security Solutions, formerly Counterpane Internet...
, Ronald L. Rivest, Matt BlazeMatt BlazeMatt Blaze is a researcher in the areas of secure systems, cryptography, and trust management. He is currently an Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania; he received his PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University.In 1992, while working for...
, Whitfield DiffieWhitfield DiffieBailey Whitfield 'Whit' Diffie is an American cryptographer and one of the pioneers of public-key cryptography.Diffie and Martin Hellman's paper New Directions in Cryptography was published in 1976...
, Eric ThompsonEric ThompsonEric Norman Thompson was an English actor, producer and television presenter.Thompson was born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of George Henry and Anne Thompson, and grew up Rudgwick, Sussex, attending Collyer's School, Horsham...
, Michael Wiener) (pdf)