Through movies, news reports, and court cases, hackers have been labeled as government rebels just looking to make trouble. Read their stories, though, and decide for yourself if these computer geniuses are as bad as they seem, or if the media has created their criminal image.
Kevin Mitnick
Since breaking into a computer system and stealing source code, Kevin Mitnick has become quite an infamous character. He knows what he did was illegal, however, in an interview with CNN, Mitnick blames the media exposure for the harsh treatment he received in jail. “Because of the media reporting, I was treated as ‘Osama bin Mitnick,’" he says and continues, “At the end of the day, I would have been prosecuted, but I wouldn't have been held in solitary confinement for a year for the fear that I could launch nuclear missiles by whistling through a pay phone.”
While previously condemned for hacking, now (about a decade after his case) Mitnick runs his own computer security company where he is hired to find flaws in company systems. Life goes on for Kevin Mitnick and he concludes his interview with CNN saying, “I'm lucky that I've been given a second chance and that I could use these skills to help the community.”
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/10/07/kevin.mitnick.cnna/index.html
David L. Smith (Kwyjibo)
David L. Smith authored the Melissa worm, a virus that “forwards itself to the first 50 addresses in a person’s Outlook address book,” as stated by Wikipedia. While it cost North American businesses around 80 million dollars in damage, Smith claimed that he didn’t produce the virus with this result in mind. He stated in court, “When I posted the virus, I expected that any financial injury would be minor and incidental…In fact, I included features designed to prevent substantial damage...I had no idea there would be such profound consequences to others.”
Regardless of his expectations, this virus remains the most expensive damage-inducing virus in history. Smith, also known by his hacker name Kwyjibo, switched sides after 20 months in jail to work undercover for the FBI.
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/1999/12/va_melissa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L._Smith_%28virus_writer%29
Jonathan James (c0mrade)
Jonathan James was a mere teen when he hacked into NASA’s computer system. Controlling oxygen filtering and other “critical life sustaining elements,” as Wikipedia calls it, James “obtained access to the International Space Station source code.”
In an interview with PBS Frontline, James calls hacking intellectual and stimulating. He also says, “What was fun for me was a challenge to see what I could pull off. But then there's other people that go into corporate web sites, government web sites, and change it…that's mischievous. But I didn't do stuff like that.” Calling himself a “harmless kid,” Jonathan James felt the prospect of going to jail was too harsh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_James
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/interviews/anon.html
Other sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29 | 
