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Mitnick Finds That Hacking Pays
by Bara Vaida
Bidding for the 1994 Toshiba laptop that storied hacker Kevin Mitnick used to break into several companies' networks ended Monday on eBay with the winning bid of $15,200.
Mitnick pleaded guilty in March 2000 to wire fraud, computer fraud and intercepting communications. Under supervised release that ends Jan. 21, 2003, he can use a cell phone and computer but not the Internet, so his girlfriend put Mitnick's laptop up for auction on eBay and is handling his e-mails.
Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple Computer, signed the bottom of the laptop with this note: "You've got the whole world in your hands. -- Woz (Free Kevin!)." Mitnick also signed it.
In the eBay posting, Mitnick said he is willing to personally deliver the laptop to the winner of the auction, provided that the buyer pay his travel expenses and the federal government grants him the right to travel. Mitnick now makes money as a computer-security consultant.
Techies Ride America's Cup Waves
Wealthy high-tech executives are used to competition in the marketplace, but in this year's America's Cup, some of them also are battling it out on the waters off New Zealand.
Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison, whose boat is named Oracle, has competed in several America's Cup challenges and was ahead in the qualifier series on Monday. Also on the water is a boat called the OneWorld Challenge, financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and cell-phone entrepreneur Craig McCaw. And Peter Harrison, the CEO of Induslogic, a software-applications company, is backing the GBR Challenge, a boat that he hopes will grab the cup for the British for the first time since 1851.
According to The New York Times, each executive brings his own personality to the race. Ellison, for example, lives on a 250-foot yacht, the Katana, when he is not racing. The Katana is connected via satellite to Oracle's headquarters in California. Ellison has insisted to the press that he personally, and not Oracle, is paying the costs of running in the race.
Meanwhile, Allen and McCaw bring an environmentalist attitude to the race. They wash their boats in rainwater collected in a tub and enlisted crew members to plant 10,000 trees in the volcanic slopes of New Zealand to compensate for the atmosphere damage that may have been caused by exhaust from boats in the race, The New York Times said.
Bush Replaces Top Communications Adviser
Suzy DeFrancis is joining the White House as deputy assistant to President Bush for communications, taking over many of the duties of longtime Bush adviser Karen Hughes, who left the post this summer.
In her new role, DeFrancis will assist in general communications strategy and planning and execution of the president's agenda. She previously was senior vice president and director of public affairs at Porter Novelli, where she oversaw communications strategy and message development. Before that, she was deputy director of communications and congressional affairs at the Republican National Committee and a speechwriter in the Nixon administration for former Interior Secretary Rogers Morton.
Bush also appointed Timothy Alan Campen as director of the Office of Administration. Campen became the office's chief information officer in August 2001. From 1997 until 2001, he was the associate administrator for information resources in the House.
Bush also announced that he intends to appoint Thomas Dorr as a member of the board of directors of the Rural Telephone Bank, a government-run corporation that was created in 1971 to ensure that rural areas have telephone services. Dorr was appointed undersecretary for rural development at the Agriculture Department in August.
Gramm Banks On Retirement
Texas Republican Phil Gramm will become an investment banker and vice chairman of UBS Warburg when he ends his 24-year Senate career at the end of this session. Gramm, who was the Senate Banking Committee chairman before the Democrats took control of the chamber in June 2001, said he is to be part of the company board that sets policy.
AP reported that Gramm said the full-time job would involve work in New York and around the world but that he would live in his home near San Antonio, Texas, where he is building a barn and a guesthouse. Gramm was a leading sponsor of the 1999 banking law that includes provisions on financial privacy.
Coming Tech Industry Attractions
ClickAction CEO Gregory Slayton and venture capitalist Ken Eldred on Friday are scheduled to host a $2,500-a-head fundraising reception and dinner in support of California Proposition 49, a ballot measure that would fund after-school programs. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger spearheaded the campaign for the initiative. He has been building support in the state with a campaign that includes a Web site.
TechNet Massachusetts, meanwhile, is scheduled to host an Oct. 16 breakfast discussion featuring White House cyber-security czar Richard Clarke. The event will be held at Broadview International's offices in Waltham, Mass. Clarke also is scheduled to host a town meeting in Boston at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that evening to talk about the Bush administration's proposed cyber-security plan.
And actor, writer and game-show host Ben Stein is hosting a retirement party for House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, who is ending his career at the end of this Congress. Stein, host of "Win Ben Stein's Money" on Comedy Central, is the featured entertainment at the event, which will be hosted by the Institute for Policy Innovation. The host committee members will include House Majority Whip Tom Delay, R-Texas; Gramm; and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas.
Gotta Have a Dell Grant
Susan Dell, wife of Dell Computer founder Michael Dell, is presenting a $350,000 grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation on Wednesday to the NetDay AmeriCorps Bridge Program, which provides desktop and laptop computers to educational institutions. The event will be at the Mercedes Early Childhood Center in Mercedes, Texas.
On the same day, the foundation is presenting a $328,000 grant to the Children's Defense Fund to provide health insurance for children that are not covered by a healthcare plan.
In other award-related news, Edward (Ned) Barnholt, president and CEO of Agilent Technologies, is to receive the Medal of Achievement award from the tech industry group AeA on Oct. 17 in recognition of his significant contributions to his community and the high-tech industry. Joining AeA to present the award will be Lewis Platt, former president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, William Terry, former executive vice president at HP, and Robert Bigony, AeA chairman and senior vice president at Motorola.
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