Authorities Again Seek Legendary Hacker

John Johnson and Julie Tamaki examine the search for Kevin Mitnick after authorities accused him of violating probation and improperly obtaining California motor-vehicle information. The article reviews Mitnick’s earlier hacking and phone-phreaking history and the public reputation that had developed around him.

The report is useful as a contemporary account of Mitnick’s fugitive period and of how law enforcement officials, former associates, and treatment professionals characterized his technical ability and social-engineering methods.