He was once a very famous hacker: Who is Kevin Poulsen?

Kevin Poulsen was born on November 30, 1965 in Pasadena, California. At an early age, he became a hacker with his interest in computers and his great intelligence. It has become the world's agenda with the cyber attacks it carried out in the United States.

He called himself "DARK DANTE"

In 1983, young hacker Kevin Poulsen found a phone number to hack ARPANET, the computer network created by the Pentagon. He used this trick to access the ARPANET under the pseudonym "Dark Dante".

After connecting his modem to his ARPANET phone number, he realized he had access to military research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. He was able to correctly guess the password protecting sensitive documents on Berkeley computers, infiltrating the computers, and stealing all the documents.

A few weeks after this incident, Poulsen accidentally used his real name while trying to infiltrate the Arpanet network again. With his identity revealed, his computer was confiscated by the Los Angeles DA on September 22, 1983. However, as he was only seventeen, the DA decided not to arrest Poulsen. Instead, they just gave him a warning.

Poulsen moved out of his family home after all these accusations. Then it started leaking into various networks again. At that time, it was learned that Kevin Poulsen bought himself a closet in the warehouse. In February 1988, the locker was opened by the units and all of Poulsen's computer and telephone equipment was discovered.

Investigators also found the phone number of the Soviet embassy on the locker, suspecting that the owner of the locker may have spied for the Soviet Union. Finally, they began to suspect Poulsen again, as they discovered a few more items in the closet bearing the name "Kevin Poulsen."

Telephone company researcher Jon Von Brauch:

“We found a storage cabinet containing pieces of electronic equipment, payphones, and computer printouts, including the printout of the unpublished number of the Soviet embassy in San Francisco. This is not the type of equipment or material to be bought in barter or found in a landfill. It was quite obviously stolen property. “

Upon this incident, Authorities went to Poulsen's house and found that he had set up a wiretapping operation in one of the bedrooms of the house. This equipment was a setup for various computers to access databases and monitor telephone conversations. It was later discovered that his friend Sean Randol was using this equipment to eavesdrop on phone lines and record his family's conversations. And Poulsen's friend Sean Randol was arrested. Of course, by the time the authorities left, Poulsen had already disappeared.

During the fugitive period; Poulsen, of course, did not stand still and hacked federal computers. It also exposed details of wiretaps about foreign consulates, suspected gangsters, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Thus, he started a war against the FBI. On top of all this, he hacked the details of the FBI's front companies while he was on the run. At the highest levels of US law enforcement, they began to call him the "Hannibal Lecter of computer crime."

On October 19, 1989, Poulsen and two hackers were charged with nineteen counts of hacking and theft. Two other hackers were arrested, but Kevin Poulsen was still wanted.

Kevin Poulsen was arrested in April 1991 after 18 months on the run. Poulsen; pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and interception of cable transmissions. He was sentenced to 54 months in prison. After his release, he completely changed the axis of his life and started working as an editor for a newspaper. The first magazine article was published in WIRED in 1998. In his first article, he focused on survival tactics for hackers.

While editor, he wrote a computer script that exposed sex offenders' Myspace memberships. Ultimately, Myspace confirmed the identities of 744 sex offenders with their profiles. Thanks to this, he has proven that he has stepped into a much better life, leaving his days as a hacker behind.

In 2000, he joined a California-based web startup called SecurityFocus as editorial director. He started reporting security and hacking news.

Poulsen's adventures are detailed in Jon Littman's thriller biography The Watchman: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Serial Hacker Kevin Poulsen.