The trials of Kevin Mitnick

John Christensen’s CNN retrospective traces the full arc of Kevin Mitnick’s hacking career, from his teenage phone-phreaking and early computer intrusions through his years as a fugitive, his 1995 arrest, and his 1999 guilty plea.

The piece was published around the time of Mitnick’s plea agreement and summarizes both the government’s case and the counter-narrative pushed by his supporters, who argued his crimes and threat level had been exaggerated.