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<FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF">AN IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL READERS OF THE 1999 GUINNESS BOOK OF
RECORDS</FONT><FONT COLOR="#EF0000"><BR>
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A *very* inaccurate record was printed on page 178 concerning
the case of a computer hacker named Kevin Mitnick. In fact, we
think this single paragraph may have set a record of its own for
the amount of mistruths in such a short space!<BR>
<BR>
Please read the following reproduction of the piece in question
along with the many corrections we hope to have included in a
future edition of the book. Please send <A HREF="mailto:webmaster@guinnessrecords.com">email</A> to voice your opinion on this issue.<BR>
<BR>
(Corrections are in brackets and coloured <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">red</FONT>.)<BR>
<BR>
MOST NOTORIOUS HACKER CASE<BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Obviously this category isn't a real &quot;world record&quot; as it's completely
subjective and open to bias. It would be like labelling somebody
the World's Biggest Idiot when there are so many contenders, each
with their own unique attributes. Records in this book should
be based on cold, hard numbers and indisputable facts, not sheer
conjecture. We sincerely regret that anything so sensationalist
ever made it into these pages.]</FONT><BR>
<BR>
Hacker Kevin Mitnick is alleged to have broken into several major
organizations' computer systems, including those of Sun Microsystems,
Motorola, and the Pentagon. <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Upon further research it can be revealed that there is no evidence
anywhere to suggest that Mr. Mitnick ever had anything to do with
Pentagon computers.]</FONT> Mitnick was arrested on September 16, 1996 <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Actually, that was the date he was INDICTED. Mr Mitnick was ARRESTED
on February 15, 1995, more than four years ago! And at the time
of this writing, he had still not been given the opportunity to
defend himself. We would like to say that this is some sort of
record for the United States justice system but, regrettably,
this kind of thing happens far too often.]</FONT> after an FBI computer expert <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Here we can't be certain whether or not this is a factual misstatement
since there is widespread belief that <A HREF="mailto:tsutomu@sdsc.edu">Tsutomu Shimomura</A> (the alleged superhacker who helped track down Mr. Mitnick along
with New York Times writer <A HREF="mailto:markoff@nyt.com">John Markoff</A> and quickly went on to make a fortune writing a book called &quot;Takedown&quot;
and later getting movie rights to the film which will be released
in 1999 despite widespread condemnation) was actually hired by
the government for a variety of nefarious purposes. According
to <A HREF="mailto:postmaster@fbi.gov">Louis Freeh</A>, director of the FBI, Mr. Shimomura was an employee. According
to Mr. Shimomura, he was not. This is the sort of thing you as
an individual must decide on your own.]</FONT> tracked him down. He has since been charged with software theft,
wire fraud, the interception of wire communications <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Whoops, here we go again. In actuality, Mr. Mitnick has never
been charged with any such thing. But, as an interesting aside,
if you read the Shimomura/Markoff book, you will see that they
did exactly this in their attempt to capture Mr. Mitnick.]</FONT> and computer vandalism <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[This one came from outer space - Mr. Mitnick has never been accused
of anything remotely resembling vandalism. His major offense is
alleged to be copying software (for the sake of curiosity; Mr.
Mitnick has never been accused of trying to profit from this or
cause harm in any way to the companies involved). Because the
places where he copied the software from say it's worth $80 million,
he is being treated as if he stole something worth that amount
of money. The companies will not say how they arrived at this
incredible figure nor do many people seem to believe that the
software has any value whatsoever to anyone not involved in its
development.]</FONT> Mitnick, the first hacker ever to have appeared on an FBI wanted
poster, <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Actually, Mr. Mitnick appeared on a wanted poster but it wasn't
an FBI poster. He also wasn't the first hacker to show up on such
a poster. But compared to all of the other mistruths, this one
is hardly worth mentioning.]</FONT> faces up to 12 years in prison if he is found guilty. <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">[Again, there is no basis in reality for this statement either.
Mr. Mitnick has already been imprisoned for more than four years
before his case has even been heard. The United States government
has made it abundantly clear that they intend to keep him imprisoned
for as long as they possibly can in order to send a message to
all of the other hackers in the country. If anything, this kind
of treatment has made the spirit of rebellion among hackers even
stronger and has served to unite the community. When Mr. Mitnick
does finally get his trial, he could be imprisoned for much much
longer or he could finally be released. What it boils down to
is that we just don't know.]</FONT><BR>
<BR>
We apologize for all of the space that was taken up by this narrative.
However, we felt it was important for you to know the facts. Now,
you have a choice. See the Guinness site or visit the official
Kevin Mitnick site and learn as many facts as you can. Thanks
for reading.<BR>
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<P><A HREF="http://www.freekevin.com"><IMG SRC="lmore.jpg" BORDER="0" WIDTH="390" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="absmiddle" ALT="Learn More about Kevin Mitnick"></A><A HREF="http://www.guinnessrecords.com/"><BR>
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<IMG SRC="continue.jpg" BORDER="0" WIDTH="576" HEIGHT="33" ALT="Continue to the Guinness World Recordbook site"></A></P>
<P><A HREF="http://www.guinnessrecords.com/"><BR>
</A><IMG SRC="cgi-bin/Count.cgi?ft=1|frgb=0;0;255|pad=N|dd=C|df=guinesscounter.dat" BORDER="0" ALT="(Counter)">
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