Ghost in the Wires

My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

By: Kevin Mitnick, William L. Simon

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies—and however fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labeled unstoppable. But for Kevin, hacking wasn’t just about technological feats—it was an old fashioned confidence game that required guile and deception to trick the unwitting out of valuable information.

Driven by a powerful urge to accomplish the impossible, Mitnick bypassed security systems and blazed into major organizations including Motorola, Sun Microsystems, and Pacific Bell. But as the FBI’s net began to tighten, Kevin went on the run, engaging in an increasingly sophisticated cat-and-mouse game that led through false identities, a host of cities, plenty of close shaves, and to an ultimate showdown with the feds, who would stop at nothing to bring him down.

Ghost in the Wires is a thrilling true story of intrigue, suspense, and unbelievable escape and a portrait of a visionary whose creativity, skills, and persistence forced the authorities to rethink the way they pursued him, inspiring ripples that brought permanent changes in the way people and companies protect their most sensitive information.

©2011 Kevin Mitnick. Foreword 2011 by Steve Wozniak (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Intriguing, insightful, and extremely educational into the mind of one who truly mastered the art of social engineering with the use of a computer and modern-day technologies. I strongly believe that one can learn a great deal about protecting themselves once they understand how another one perpetrates the crime.” (Frank W. Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can)

More Interesting Than It Sounds

If you could sum up Ghost in the Wires in three words, what would they be?

intelligent, suspenseful, positive

What other book might you compare Ghost in the Wires to and why?

I have never read anything else like it. I'm not a huge fan of technology or hackers, but after seeing the author on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, I wanted to give this book a try.

Which scene was your favorite?

How he gets caught is really interesting.

If you could give Ghost in the Wires a new subtitle, what would it be?

"The story of the world's most infamous hacker, and how he overcame."

Any additional comments?

Don't let the subject matter fool you. This is absolutely intriguing.

A+

I couldn't stop listening, even though I don't understand a lot of the technical stuff!

From mechanical engineering to cyber security...

I've always been interested in how our world works. As a mechanical engineer I've enjoyed exploiting natural phenomenon in order to "hack" reality. When I heard of Kevin's story, I was inspired to take manipulation to the digital layer. My career has shifted to the IT sector largely thanks to this book and others like it.

Fantastic sort! I didn’t want it to end!

I loved Ghost in the Wires!
Being computer literate but by no means a hacker, I was riveted by this book.
I felt like I knew Kevin Mitnick. I want to know him after this book!
The story kept you engaged, constantly!
I never felt there was a lag in the storytelling.
The reader, Ray Porter did a fantastic job!
Some audiobooks may have an amazing story, or writer but end up being awful because of a bad reader or bad sounding reader.
Ghost in the Wires had neither!
I purchased Kevin Mitnick’s other audiobooks before I even finished this one.
Now, I hope they’re just as good as this!

Interesting but very technical

I thought this was a great audiobook. The narrator was super and kept the story engaging. I did find that a lot of the technical details went over my head but I didn't mind. still an interesting listen.

First audiobook I couldn't put down

I didn't think I would like this audiobook so much. Other reviews stated the author is full of himself. While that is definitely true, I was hooked. I found myself looking for things to do so I could continue listening to the amazing hacks Kevin Mitnick accomplished through social engineering. Extemely interesting from start to finish.

Personally Familiar

Every moment of this story was interesting. I highly recommend it for anyone in the security, hacking or criminal investigation industry. I participated in the 2600 Free Kevin movement described late in the book. I've also met Kevin Mitnick in person at a security conference. I've seen both movies described. I think this is a great book to tie it all together.

solid

solid story. really enjoyed stoires of the early days of hacking and the height of phone phreaking. Free Kevin!

This is so awesome

This story was so interesting. I all ready knew about kiply but hearing the book from his point of view is really fascinating. I have always wanted to do stuff like him but spoiler he was on the run for years so I didn’t.

T-Rex

It was cool to ear the story from the horses mouth. I found myself comparing our hacking experiences and thinking about what things can one be admitted to.