The growing number of lobbyists for the release of Kevin Mitnick, the notorious ‘hacker from hell’, include The rc5 Crack Team, who have taken on a series of challenges sponsored by RSA Data Security Inc. Participants of the code cracking challenge, try to decrypt an encoded phrase which has been released to the public specifically to test and evaluate the strength of the encryption method used. The prize is $1,000 a crack. The rc5 team, which won the previous contest on October 19, donates its prize money to the Kevin Mitnick Defense Fund and is actively looking for more team members. These legitimate hackers believe that, whatever his alleged crimes, Mitnick surely deserves ethical and humanitarian treatment and, at the very least, legal aid, while he awaits his trial now set for April 14th 1998. The rc5 Crack team can be reached at the new official Kevin Mitnick Web Site http://www.kevinmitnick.com where friends and supporters point out that the so-called cyberthief has spent more time behind bars than most dangerous criminals (CI No 3,282). They believe his present incarceration in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles, a charming institution which punished its techno detainee with four days in solitary last year for storing too many cans of tuna fish in his cell (the man doesn’t eat meat) and feared that he might bug them with a Walkman, is a sad reminder of where the hysteria generated by computer and technology-related crime can lead. Anyone can now view the federal charges, court transcripts and a collection of media reports generated by the case at the remarkably well-balanced site. Anyone interested in donating money for Mitnick’s defense, or indeed, a decent vegetarian meal can send US Postal Orders to: Donald C. Randolph, Attorney for Kevin Mitnick, 1717 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 9040401, USA.
