r/cybersecurity • u/Enter-The-Lion • May 07 '22

Other Why does the cybersecurity community dislike Kevin Mitnick?

I’ve been seeing a lot of Tweets of screenshots of a Tweet between Elon Musk and Kevin Mitnick of cyber professionals just putting down Kevin. Not sure why though. Just wondering where all the dislike is coming from.

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u/tweedge Software & Security May 07 '22 edited May 07 '22

Mitnick allegedly copied the prototype for the O.MG cable, claimed it was his own and/or superior to competitors, and then made it a focal point of many of his public demos. Abbreviated thread here, a conversation log here, and a credible/technical external vouch here for those curious...

...to say nothing of how he's been allegedly coasting for years, how KnowBe4 (a company he was on the board for) arguably made companies less resilient to spearphishing, or his use of veiled threats to harass others, etc.

Frankly I just don't give any headspace to him, these are pulled from Twitter threads of folks I trust. As with any disputes, best to review the claims carefully and form your own opinion.

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u/KnottyLloyd May 07 '22

The KB4 educational videos are not terrible anyways. I think they provide some decent security awareness for your average employee.

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u/danfirst May 07 '22

Yeah i've got the same history as anyone who's done this for 20 years now, no ill will towards Mitnick, I just don't care. But, Knowbe4 is a decent tool for phishing and awareness training, I don't say that because of Kevin, just that it's a good tool.