Judge Blocks Mitnick's Appearance At Conference

An information technology conference in Salt Lake City this week had to go on without convicted hacker Kevin Mitnick after a judge ruled his participation in a panel discussion on computer security would violate terms of his probation.

The Utah Information Technology Association (UITA) learned shortly before the two-day conference began Tuesday that a federal judge in California barred Mitnick from sitting on the panel. UITA President Richard Nelson said he was "disappointed" that Mitnick would not be allowed to share his expertise with those in the business of fighting hackers.

Mitnick, 36, was freed from prison in January after serving more than four years behind bars for hacking into the computer systems of Fujitsu, Motorola, Nokia, the University of California and others. Despite the work of untold numbers of hackers and cyber-attackers since his name surfaced early in the last decade, Mitnick is seen as a symbol of the rogues of the Internet.

"Given the critical nature of security issues in today's interconnected world, we felt Kevin's visibility would help encourage greater vigilance among both business and government leaders," Nelson said in a news release announcing that Mitnick would be there as planned.

Since his release, Mitnick has been featured on CBS's 60 Minutes, CNN, Fox and CourtTV for his expertise. He also appeared at and spoke as a panelist during the Online Journalism Conference at the University of Southern California last month, where he addressed the impact of technology on journalism, but no technical issues.

In March, testifying at a Senate hearing on a computer security bill, Mitnick placed a great deal of importance on fighting the human element of hacking as well as its technical aspects. He suggested better education of employees about security risk and how hackers operate, noting that he was often able to dupe government workers into giving him system passwords without putting his technical skills to work.

A witness from the General Accounting Office (GOA) agreed.

Even though he is among the most notorious of hackers, Mitnick is seen in computer security circles as a valuable resource. Nearly one-third of the respondents to a recent poll by CIO (Computer Information Officer) magazine said they'd hire Mitnick once he finishes his three-year parole period.

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com.