Kevin Mitnick: Who was he, what did he hack

Kevin Mitnick was not able to hack his life, or we can say death.

Kevin Mitnick, a former hacker and one of the most sought cybercriminals in the country, died on Sunday, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the funeral home in Las Vegas and the cybersecurity training firm he co-founded. He was 59.

His demise was confirmed by Kathy Wattman, a representative with KnowBe4 Training.

Pancreatic cancer issues were the root of the problem. The King David Memorial Chapel & Cemetery in Las Vegas reports that after receiving his diagnosis more than a year ago, he has been receiving treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre.

Who was Kevin Mitnick and what did he hack?

He was freed from prison in 2000 and started a new career as a security consultant, writer, and public speaker after serving time in prison for hacking into and messing with business computer networks.

The 1990s criminal wave that saw Mr Mitnick steal thousands of data files and credit card numbers from computers across the nation is what made him most famous. He utilised his talents to break into the country's phone and cellular networks to vandalise business, governmental, and academic computer systems.

He was the "most wanted" computer hacker in the world at the time, according to investigators.

After more than a two-year manhunt, Mr Mitnick was apprehended by the F.B.I. in 1995, and he was charged with computer fraud and unauthorised use of a telephone access device. "He allegedly had access to corporate trade secrets worth millions of dollars. He was a very big threat," according to Kent Walker, a former assistant US attorney in San Francisco.

As part of a deal with the prosecution, Mr Mitnick admitted guilt to computer and wire fraud in 1999 and received a 46-month jail term. For three years after his release, he was forbidden from using a computer or a mobile without the approval of his probation supervisor.

Being the sole child of divorced parents, Mr Mitnick spent his childhood in Los Angeles. According to his 2011 autobiography, "Ghost in the Wires," he travelled a lot and lived alone while learning magic feats.

In high school, Mr Mitnick acquired a fixation with the inner workings of telephone company switches and circuits. By the age of 12, he had figured out how to ride the bus freely using a $15 punch card and blank tickets retrieved from a dumpster.