Mitnick violated by US immigration

FORMER HACKER Kevin Mitnick who was released from jail more than eight years ago said he was violated by US customs and immigration.

On his way back from a trip to Colombia, Mitnick was detained at Atlanta airport for four hours for no apparent reason.

Meanwhile coppers in Bogota were ripping open a package he had mailed to his US address on suspicion that it contained cocaine.

Mitnick said that it was like the days when he was a fugitive pursued by the FBI for breaking into computer networks, only this time, he hadn't broken any laws.

He had the feeling he had been set up by someone, who on the basis of what happened had told coppers he was a drugs runner.

Apparently he had only been to Bogota to give a speech to the newspaper El Tiempo and to visit his girlfriend. Use of the word 'girlfriend' in a former hacker's alibi meant that coppers were instantly suspicious.

Apparently when the US customs agent swiped his passport through the computer system and said "Kevin. Guess what? There are some people downstairs who want to have a word with you, but don't worry. Everything will be OK."

The next thing that was suspicious was when they found a a MacBook Pro, a Dell XPS M1210 laptop, an Asus 900 mini-laptop, three or four hard drives, numerous USB storage devices, some Bluetooth dongles, three Iphones, and four Nokia phones (with different SIM cards for different countries) in his luggage. There was also a lock-picking kit and an HID proximity card spoofer that can be used to snag data stored on physical access cards by swiping it in front of them.

Mitnick claimed he used the device in a demonstration about security in his speech in Bogota, but customs thought it was a credit card reader. The MacBook Pro was also a dead give away.

When he was asked if he could prove that he was in the US to moderate a panel at a security conference sponsored by the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS)

He fired up his laptop only to have it snatched away because agents thought he was deleting evidence.

Ironically one of the the members of the panel he was to moderate works for the FBI. Customs agents gave him a tinkle and he verified Mitnick's story.

ASIS organisers, worried about Mitnick's non-arrival for his awaiting airport ride, had also called the director of security at the airport and helped clear things up. ICE let him go after saying sorry several times.

The package in Bogota was, apparently, completely innocent. µ

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