Benjamin Harrison Freedman, (1890 – May 1984) was a convert from Judaism to Roman Catholicism, known for his antisemitic views and writings and activism against Zionism. Freedman was a partner in a dermatological institute and in small business.

Biography

Freedman was, from 1925 to 1937, a partner with Samuel D. Leidesdorf and the John H. Woodbury Laboratories, a dermatological institute and a derivative company of the old Woodbury Soap Company. Benjamin H Freedman was listed on the letterhead of the Institute for Arab American Affairs and around 1946, along with his wife, listed as "R M Schoendorf" (Rose M. Schoendorf Freedman), "sponsored a series of advertisements under the imprint of 'The League for Peace with Justice in Palestine'". In 1946 he sued the American Jewish Committee for libel and the case was thrown out in less than a month.

In 1988, the Institute for Historical Review published Robert John's ''Behind the Balfour Declaration'', including a single acknowledgment, to Freedman. John wrote that Freedman "gave me copies of materials on the Balfour Declaration which I might never have found on my own and (he) encouraged my own research."

Curtis B. Dall acknowledged Freedman in ''FDR: My Exploited Father-In-Law'', which focuses on Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Activities

He was a financial backer of the author Conde McGinley, publisher of the periodical ''Common Sense''. In the 1955 libel trial by Rabbi Joachim Prinz against McGinley, Freedman testified that "he had given Mr. McGinley financial support of 'more than $10,000 but less than $100,000'". Prinz had sued McGinley for calling him a "red rabbi."

At the Henry George School, Benjamin Freedman spoke on "The Genesis of Middle East Tensions". Long John Nebel reported on WNBC that Freedman would discuss anti-Semitism. Freedman was politically active until the mid-1970s when he was well over 85 years old. He died in May 1984 at the age of 94.

Freedman opposed the nomination of Anna M. Rosenberg to be Assistant Secretary of Defense in 1950. An article in the ''ADL Bulletin'' entitled ''The Plot Against Ann Rosenberg'' attributed the attacks on Rosenberg's loyalty to "professional anti-Semites and lunatic nationalists," including the "Jew-baiting cabal of John Rankin, Benjamin Freedman, and Gerald Smith."

Freedman, an apostate Jew, was well known to the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee as an active supporter of the Arab cause in the Middle East. (fn 33) In the course of his erratic and often contradictory testimony before the Senate committee, Freedman revealed the roles played by anti-Semitic agitators and right-wing anticommunists — including Gerald L.K. Smith, Conde McGinley, the "Reverend" Wesley Swift, Congressman John Rankin, Senator Joseph McCarthy, and J.B. Matthews — in the campaign against the Rosenberg appointment. (fn 34)

He is mentioned in a report by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Works

''League for Peace With Justice in Palestine''. Freedman published his own broadsheets under the aegis of the ''League for Peace With Justice in Palestine'', which he founded in 1946.

"Palestine," ''Destiny: The Magazine of National Life'' (Jan. 1948): 26–28 (originally appeared in the National Economic Council’s Letter, no. 177, Oct. 15, 1947). Haverhill, Mass.

''Facts are Facts'', Noontide Press (Softcover), ISBN 0-317-53273-1. A pamphlet purporting to be the text of a 1954 letter from Freedman to David Goldstein, proponent of the idea that Christianity fulfilled Judaism. The text expounds the notion that most people now identified as Jews are descendants of Khazars, a Turkic people of Central Asia who converted to Judaism. Freedman does not refer to Jews but to "so-called or 'self-styled Jews'.

''Why Congress is Crooked or Crazy or Both'', Founder, 1946, League for Peace with Justice in Palestine (New York, 1975)

Notes

Resources

Hall, Gordon D., ''The Hate Campaign Against the UN. Beacon Press, 1952. Nomination of Anna M. Rosenberg to be Assistant Secretary of Defense

Griffith, Robert K. ''The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate'', University of Massachusetts Press, 1987, ISBN 0870235559

Svonkin, Stuart. ''Jews Against Prejudice:American Jews and the Fight for Civil Liberties'', Columbia University Press 1997. ISBN 0-231-10638-6

House Committee on un-American Activities, 1954 (PDF 3 Meg) (from the Eugene Debs collection)

External links

The audio of the 1961 Willard Hotel speech in its entirety is 87 minutes long:

*The speech in its entirety

*Speech (Part1)

*Speech (Part2)

*Speech (Part3)

Category:1890 births Category:1984 deaths Category:American anti-communists Category:American businesspeople Category:Antisemitism Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Category:People from New York City Category:Israeli–Palestinian peace efforts

bg:Бенджамин Фридман de:Benjamin Freedman es:Benjamin Freedman fr:Benjamin Harrison Freedman it:Benjamin Harrison Freedman pt:Benjamin Freedman

name	Kevin David Mitnick
birth date	August 06, 1963
birth place	Los Angeles, California
occupation	Computer Consultant, Mitnick Security ConsultingAuthor
website	http://www.kevinmitnick.com
footnotes	}}

Kevin David Mitnick (born on August 6, 1963) is a computer security consultant, author, and former computer hacker. In the late 20th century, he was convicted of various computer- and communications-related crimes. At the time of his arrest, he was the most-wanted computer criminal in the United States.

Computer hacking

At age 12, Mitnick used social engineering to bypass the punchcard system used in the Los Angeles bus system. After a friendly bus driver told him where he could buy his own ticket punch, he could ride any bus in the greater LA area using unused transfer slips he found in the trash. Social engineering became his primary method of obtaining information, including user names and passwords and modem phone numbers.

Mitnick gained unauthorized access to his first computer network in 1979, at 16, when a friend gave him the phone number for the Ark, the computer system Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) used for developing their RSTS/E operating system software. He broke into DEC's computer network and copied their software, a crime he was charged with and convicted of in 1988. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Near the end of his supervised release, Mitnick hacked into Pacific Bell voice mail computers. After a warrant was issued for his arrest, Mitnick fled, becoming a fugitive for two and a half years.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Mitnick gained unauthorized access to dozens of computer networks while he was a fugitive. He used cloned cellular phones to hide his location and, among other things, copied valuable proprietary software from some of the country's largest cellular telephone and computer companies. Mitnick also intercepted and stole computer passwords, altered computer networks, and broke into and read private e-mail. Mitnick was apprehended on Valentine's Day, 1995 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was found with cloned cellular phones, more than 100 clone cellular phone codes, and multiple pieces of false identification.

Confirmed criminal acts

Using the Los Angeles bus transfer system to get free rides Evading the FBI Hacking into DEC system(s) to view VMS source code (DEC reportedly spent $160,000 in cleanup costs) Gaining full administrator privileges to an IBM minicomputer at the Computer Learning Center in Los Angeles in order to win a bet Hacking Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Sun Microsystems and Fujitsu Siemens systems

Alleged criminal acts

Stole computer manuals from a Pacific Bell telephone switching center in Los Angeles Read the e-mail of computer security officials at MCI Communications and Digital Wiretapped the California DMV Made free cell phone calls

Hacked Santa Cruz Operation, Pacific Bell, FBI, Pentagon, Novell, California Department of Motor Vehicles, University of Southern California and Los Angeles Unified School District systems.

Wiretapped NSA agents, according to John Markoff;. This was originally denied by Kevin Mitnick but later mentioned by Mitnick while listing his crimes as a juvenile in an interview with Stephen Colbert on the August 18th episode of ''The Colbert Report''.

Arrest, conviction, and incarceration

After a well-publicized pursuit, the FBI arrested Mitnick on February 15, 1995, at his apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina, on federal offenses related to a 2½-year period of computer hacking.

In 1999, Mitnick confessed to four counts of wire fraud, two counts of computer fraud and one count of illegally intercepting a wire communication, as part of a plea agreement before the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison plus 22 months for violating the terms of his 1989 supervised release sentence for computer fraud. He admitted to violating the terms of supervised release by hacking into PacBell voicemail and other systems and to associating with known computer hackers, in this case co-defendant Louis De Payne.

Mitnick served five years in prison — four and a half years pre-trial and eight months in solitary confinement — because, according to Mitnick, law enforcement officials convinced a judge that he had the ability to "start a nuclear war by whistling into a pay phone". He was released on January 21, 2000. During his supervised release, which ended on January 21, 2003, he was initially forbidden to use any communications technology other than a landline telephone. Mitnick fought this decision in court, eventually winning a ruling in his favor, allowing him to access the Internet. Under the plea deal, Mitnick was also prohibited from profiting from films or books based on his criminal activity for seven years. Mitnick now runs Mitnick Security Consulting LLC, a computer security consultancy.

Controversy

Mitnick's criminal activities, arrest, and trial, along with the associated journalism were all controversial.

Though Mitnick has been convicted of copying software unlawfully and possession of several forged identification documents, his supporters argue that his punishment was excessive. In his 2002 book, ''The Art of Deception'', Mitnick states that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes that he gained by social engineering. He claims he did not use software programs or hacking tools for cracking passwords or otherwise exploiting computer or phone security.

Two books explored the allegations: John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura's ''Takedown'', and Jonathan Littman's ''The Fugitive Game''. Littman made four main allegations:

journalistic impropriety by Markoff, who had covered the case for the New York Times based on rumor and government claims, while never interviewing Mitnick himself.

overzealous prosecution of Mitnick by the government

mainstream media over-hyping Mitnick's actual crimes

Shimomura's involvement in the matter being unclear or of dubious legality

Further controversy came over the release of the movie based on the book by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura, with Littman alleging that portions of the film were taken from his book without permission.

The case against Mitnick tested the new laws that had been enacted for dealing with computer crime, and it raised public awareness of security involving networked computers. The controversy remains, however, and Mitnick is often cited today as an example of the quintessential computer criminal.

Supporters of Mitnick have asserted that many of the charges against him were fraudulent and not based on actual losses.

Media

In 2000, Skeet Ulrich and Russell Wong portrayed Kevin Mitnick and Tsutomu Shimomura in the movie ''Track Down'', which was based on the book ''Takedown'' by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura. The DVD was released in September 2004.

A fan-based documentary named ''Freedom Downtime'' was created in response to ''Take Down''.

Mitnick appears in e-mail as a recipient of e-mails sent by the hacker Windmill in the video game Deus Ex:Human Revolution.

Mitnick is the co-author, with William L. Simon, of two computer security books and his autobiography: ''The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers'' ''The Art of Deception'' ''Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker'' Mitnick appeared on ''The Colbert Report'' in 2011 to talk about his new book.

Mitnick appeared on the TWiT.tv network Triangulation episode 21 on August 24 2011

Mitnick was interviewed on ''Coast to Coast AM'' during the episode Hacking & Technology on August 23 2011.

See also

List of convicted computer criminals

Hacker (computer security)

The Cuckoo's Egg

Notes

References

Books

Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon, ''Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker'', 2011, Hardback ISBN 978-0316037709

Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon, ''The Art Of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind The Exploits Of Hackers, Intruders, And Deceivers'', 2005, Hardback ISBN 0471782661

Jeff Goodell, ''The Cyberthief and the Samurai: The True Story of Kevin Mitnick-And the Man Who Hunted Him Down'', 1996, ISBN 978-0440222057

Tsutomu Shimomura, ''Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It'', 1996, ISBN 0-7868-8913-6

Jonathan Littman, ''The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick'', 1996, ISBN 0-316-52858-7

Katie Hafner and John Markoff, ''Cyber Punk - Outlaws and Hackers On The Computer Frontier'', 1995, ISBN 1-872180-94-9

Articles

External links

2600 Live Mitnick interview, 2600 Magazine, Released January 2003, Run time: 1 hr 18 min 5 sec

Mitnick Security Consulting (formerly known as Defensive Thinking), Kevin Mitnick's new company.

TAKEDOWN, last accessed March 16, 2009

A CNN Interview with Kevin Mitnick, last accessed September 15, 2006

Freedom Downtime, the 2600 documentary.

The Kevin Mitnick/Tsutomu Shimomura affair - lots of information on the case.

The missing Chapter 1 of Mitnick's book

Mitnick interview February 5, 2003

The interview for HACK.pl

Mitnick's testimony before US Senate Committee on Computer Security

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:2600: The Hacker Quarterly Category:American computer criminals Category:People associated with computer security Category:Amateur radio people

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