A Give Up Exclusive!
from Spectacular Computer Crimes
by Jay Bloombecker

KEVIN MITNICK: THE WILLIE HORTON OF COMPUTER CRIME?

MITNICK AND MORRIS: TWO SYMBOLS INSTEAD OF SUBSTANCE?

To Bonnie Mitnick, her husband's case seemed to have been the perfect distraction. "It has to do with Morris," she said. "His father is a big shot at the NSA, (Chief Scientist) and they want to take the heat off his case and put it on this case instead. Look, Morris Sr. is on a security committee (for the National Institute of Science and Technology) and they propose to analyze Kevin's case. Why aren't they looking at his son's case?"

Bonnie Mitnick doesn't put on airs. She doesn't have a finely wrought conspiracy theory. She probably couldn't tell you who she suspects is responsible for her husband's treatment before the law. But she looks at the allegations which appeared in the papers, which were argued in denying her husband bail, and which were well-known by the time sentencing was under discussion. "There's got to be more to it than that," she says. "Kevin just isn't the worst computer criminal ever. So why is he getting the strictest sentence ever?"

I look at Bonnie, try to smile understandingly, and confess that I have no answer. I know that her husband has alienated a lot of people, some of whom I quoted earlier in this chapter. In my own contacts with him, I've found him polite, friendly, and deferential. Of course those that hate him would warn me not to be taken in. Many told me Kevin's skill includes manipulating people as well as computer systems. Should I believe my own impression of him, or should I rely on others' experience instead? My answer to this question will affect only the tone of this chapter. The answer provided by the judicial officers and prosecutors who cooperated to deny him bail had much more impact. I have to wonder if they had any more basis for their view than I for mine.

Next to Robert Morris, the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" discussed in Chapter 18, Kevin Mitnick was the most written-about computer criminal of 1989. Mitnick's journey through the criminal justice system, however, bore little resemblance to Morris's.

Morris was acknowledged as the author of the Internet worm in early November, 1988. This program spread through a large network of computers used by academics and researchers throughout the United States, causing damage estimated at anywhere from $100,000 to $100,000,000. Morris was not arrested or incarcerated as the U.S. Attorney's Office considered what charges, if any, to bring against him.

Morris could contemplate the gravity of his situation at home with his family. Academics and professionals debated whether he should be prosecuted for irresponsibility costing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. During the same time period, Kevin Mitnick sat in jail.

Arrested in December, 1988, just one month after Morris's activity, Mitnick provided the media with the perfect story to capitalize on the interest in Morris's case. He also presented an ethical challenge to those assigned to prosecute him, a challenge that they were not able to meet.

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