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Decades later, Mitnick left him enough to buy his dream Porsche 911 GTS. By (https://www.thedrive.com/authors/byron-hurd) Byron Hurd Published Jun 22, 2026 1:14 PM EDT 11 (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=thedrive.com) Add The Drive (opens in a new tab) More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results (Porsche 911) The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. (TDInline Daily) (1) Email address (Enter your email) (Please enter a valid email address) Sign Up Thank you! (handle_newsletter_email_submission) (3df4921748) (/news/this-man-was-gifted-his-dream-car-by-the-notorious-hacker-he-put-in-prison) (https://recurrent.io/terms-and-conditions/) Terms of Service &(https://recurrent.io/privacy-policy/) Privacy Policy. If you\u2019re any kind of car geek, you have a wild gift car fantasy. You meet a bitter divorcee who gives away an ex\u2019s prized machine out of pure spite; or maybe the guy whose tire you stopped to change turns out to be a flip-flop billionaire who rewards you with your exact spec because it\u2019s simply collecting dust that week, and hey, you stopped; your humanity\u2019s worth a Dodge Viper to a guy who can afford to run a bidet on day-old moon water, or something. OK, that one might be mine. As plausible as we\u2019d like these scenarios to be, they just don\u2019t happen that often. The first pop-culture example to spring to mind\u2014John Cusack\u2019s Rob Gordon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uYKLe2lP6Q) scoring a vinyl collection from a jilted ex in \u201cHigh Fidelity \u201c\u2014ended up on the cutting room floor, and in a movie where the same character comically fantasizes about his colleagues (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJSgBv-WrSw) beating a phenomenally douchey Tim Robbins with an air conditioner (Go ahead; we both know you want to click that). Fear not; nobody gets bludgeoned in this story, but it\u2019s pretty wild nonetheless. It\u2019ll help if you know the name (https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/about-kevin-mitnick) Kevin Mitnick . He was a hacker-turned-security consultant who, later in life, helped shape the (https://www.thedrive.com/news/27842/hacker-wins-tesla-model-3-after-successful-intrusion) modern white-hat . Just how prototypical was Mitnick? He put himself on the proverbial map in 1979 by dialing into a software company\u2019s server and copying its forthcoming operating system release in its entirety. Imagine convincing a Microsoft server to cough over an early copy of Windows 12 using little more than a phone number. Some online criticism implies that Mitnick was more of a social engineer than a \u201chacker\u201d in the sense that we distinguish them today, but the reality is that a great deal of \u201chacking\u201d is still dependent on an authorized user making a mistake\u2014usually by revealing sensitive login data. For a reasonably realistic take on modern black-hatting, I recommend Mr. Robot ; be warned, that series is heavy . So, how do we get from old-school hacker to wild gift-car fantasy? In this case, by way of 14 counts of (https://csoh.org/kevin-mitnick.html) felony wire fraud . That\u2019s where Shawn Nunley comes in. Back in the \u201990s, Nunley worked for Novell, a now-defunct brand that produced enterprise software\u2014server operating systems, messaging systems, that sort of thing. GroupWise is probably its best-known brand among the general public today, but the juicy target back then was NetWare, which was the backbone of many a corporate/government/academic network. Naturally, this made it a valuable target for a hacker like Mitnick. () () () \u201cBack in the 90s, Kevin was trying very hard to hack into Novell\u2019s network,\u201d Nunley wrote. \u201cI was a network administrator. Of course, we had no idea it was Kevin, but things were happening that made it fairly obvious we had a persistent threat. Phones ringing sequentially throughout the building (war dialing) and all sorts of other signs\u2026 we knew something was up.\u201d This was Mitnick, using a slightly more sophisticated version of the same tactic that earned him his first big score in 1979. \u201cLate one night at home, I got a phone call from a Novell employee named Gabe Nault,\u201d Nunley wrote. \u201cThe \u2019employee\u2019 wanted direct inbound dial access. Since I was responsible for the entire network\u2019s inbound connectivity, I knew this type of request was abnormal and against policy.\u201d And Mitnick, no amateur, had obviously succeeded in extracting at least some private information from Novell employees prior to his Hail Mary phone call: \u201c\u2026this guy had a story about working on a top-secret project called Snowbird (real) and needing to make some emergency code changes, but he was on vacation in Vail at a hotel,\u201d Nunley continued. \u201cHe needed the coveted, policy-breaking, direct inbound modem access. Right. He even mentioned his vacation in Vail, which conveniently matched the greeting on Gabe Nault\u2019s voicemail. But it all felt wrong.\u201d \u201cWith a feeling of suspicion creeping in, I played it cool,\u201d Nunley wrote. \u201cI said, \u2018Hey man, I\u2019d love to help you out, but I can\u2019t do what you want from here at home anyway, so I\u2019ll have to do it in the morning as soon as I get to the office. But in case I forget, please leave me a voicemail.\u2019 He agreed, and that was that.\u201d \u201cWhen I got to work, the voicemail was there, and I immediately recorded it onto a cassette recorder for safekeeping,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThat recording became the primary evidence in Kevin\u2019s case.\u201d When Mitnick was caught, that\u2019s when Nunley learned that the voicemail was the only meaningful evidence that the Justice Department had against him. At first, he was on board with the prosecution, but after five years of trial delays, Nunley grew weary of the way the law was treating his adversary, and he stopped working with the DOJ. Shortly thereafter, Mitnick took a plea deal and was released. When he got out, Mitnick contacted Nunley to apologize. Their bury-the-hatchet moment was even (https://www.wired.com/2002/02/mitnick-meets-his-pigeon/) immortalized by Wired , and they went on to become good friends. Mitnick was barred from selling the story of his legal entanglements for seven years after his release, invoking legal precedent intended to curb profiteering by serial killers. But Mitnick was able to find plenty of work teaching people how to defend against the intrusion tactics he\u2019d spent decades refining. He would go on to found two consulting businesses, one of which (https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/) his family still owns and operates . When Mitnick passed from pancreatic cancer in 2023, he left Nunley a gift\u2014enough to buy his dream car, a (https://configurator.porsche.com/en-US/mode/model/992442?loadedFrom=PT1BJ7E7&loadedFromSource=porsche-code&options=QH1.QR9.FN7.VL0.GT0.6F1.6EE.6NA.3S4.4L6.K8C.7V0.D7B.6XV.0I3.9WT.1NA.QJ6.8LH.2V1.G1G.1G8.6BA.4UB.6RC.9JA.7K3.1X1.6FW.6JD.7AL.5XX.UX7.QU8.6K9.IW3.VC2.E0A.7UG.0NB.2W0.0N5.UP1.9AD.4A3.9ZE.KQ3.EM2.95B.1BV.VF2.GH3.4F6.FZ0.8VG.8N7.IV2.QQ2.8Z6.UI2.GV1.1LQ.59C.UD1.VM9.7M4.1XR.QK3.5MH.4D3.AMA.9VJ.0P5.8JU.JL2.3HB.BYN.1N3.3FF.7F4.VW4.Q1J.7Y8.2UH.1P7.3UG.3V1.ZC.1A.FT1.DCK.Z1S) 911 Carrera 4 GTS . \u201cI have had a wonderful time watching him develop into a real man,\u201d Nunley said of his friend. \u201cI am truly sad he is gone as he was a big part of my life for the last quarter century.\u201d With any luck, he\u2019ll have his 911 for at least another quarter century, if not more. h/t to (https://x.com/SpeedSportLife/status/2069042711370371495) Zerin ! Got a news tip? Let us know at tips@thedrive.com! (https://www.thedrive.com/authors/byron-hurd) (Byron Hurd Avatar) (https://www.thedrive.com/authors/byron-hurd) Byron Hurd Editor Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories. (https://bsky.app/profile/byron-drives.bsky.social) (https://www.instagram.com/byronhurd/) (https://www.linkedin.com/in/byron-hurd-252653a/) Trending (https://www.thedrive.com/news/75-more-pedestrians-have-been-killed-since-2009-giant-trucks-and-suvs-are-why) (Ford Super Duty Hero) (https://www.thedrive.com/category/self-driving-tech) Self-Driving Tech (https://www.thedrive.com/news/75-more-pedestrians-have-been-killed-since-2009-giant-trucks-and-suvs-are-why) 75% More Pedestrians Have Been Killed Since 2009. 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You meet a bitter divorcee who gives away an ex\u2019s prized machine out of pure spite; or maybe the guy whose tire you stopped to change turns out to be a flip-flop billionaire who rewards you with your exact spec because it\u2019s simply collecting dust that week, and hey, you stopped; your humanity\u2019s worth a Dodge Viper to a guy who can afford to run a bidet on day-old moon water, or something. \n\n\n\nOK, that one might be mine. \n\n\n\nAs plausible as we\u2019d like these scenarios to be, they just don\u2019t happen that often. The first pop-culture example to spring to mind\u2014John Cusack\u2019s Rob Gordon scoring a vinyl collection from a jilted ex in \u201cHigh Fidelity\u201c\u2014ended up on the cutting room floor, and in a movie where the same character comically fantasizes about his colleagues beating a phenomenally douchey Tim Robbins with an air conditioner (Go ahead; we both know you want to click that). \n\n\n\nFear not; nobody gets bludgeoned in this story, but it\u2019s pretty wild nonetheless. It\u2019ll help if you know the name Kevin Mitnick. He was a hacker-turned-security consultant who, later in life, helped shape the modern white-hat. Just how prototypical was Mitnick? He put himself on the proverbial map in 1979 by dialing into a software company\u2019s server and copying its forthcoming operating system release in its entirety. Imagine convincing a Microsoft server to cough over an early copy of Windows 12 using little more than a phone number. \n\n\n\nSome online criticism implies that Mitnick was more of a social engineer than a \u201chacker\u201d in the sense that we distinguish them today, but the reality is that a great deal of \u201chacking\u201d is still dependent on an authorized user making a mistake\u2014usually by revealing sensitive login data. For a reasonably realistic take on modern black-hatting, I recommend Mr. Robot; be warned, that series is heavy.\n\n\n\nSo, how do we get from old-school hacker to wild gift-car fantasy? In this case, by way of 14 counts of felony wire fraud. That\u2019s where Shawn Nunley comes in. \n\n\n\nBack in the \u201990s, Nunley worked for Novell, a now-defunct brand that produced enterprise software\u2014server operating systems, messaging systems, that sort of thing. GroupWise is probably its best-known brand among the general public today, but the juicy target back then was NetWare, which was the backbone of many a corporate/government/academic network. Naturally, this made it a valuable target for a hacker like Mitnick.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cBack in the 90s, Kevin was trying very hard to hack into Novell\u2019s network,\u201d Nunley wrote. \u201cI was a network administrator. Of course, we had no idea it was Kevin, but things were happening that made it fairly obvious we had a persistent threat. Phones ringing sequentially throughout the building (war dialing) and all sorts of other signs\u2026 we knew something was up.\u201d\n\n\n\nThis was Mitnick, using a slightly more sophisticated version of the same tactic that earned him his first big score in 1979. \n\n\n\n\u201cLate one night at home, I got a phone call from a Novell employee named Gabe Nault,\u201d Nunley wrote. \u201cThe \u2019employee\u2019 wanted direct inbound dial access. Since I was responsible for the entire network\u2019s inbound connectivity, I knew this type of request was abnormal and against policy.\u201d\n\n\n\nAnd Mitnick, no amateur, had obviously succeeded in extracting at least some private information from Novell employees prior to his Hail Mary phone call:\n\n\n\n\u201c\u2026this guy had a story about working on a top-secret project called Snowbird (real) and needing to make some emergency code changes, but he was on vacation in Vail at a hotel,\u201d Nunley continued. \u201cHe needed the coveted, policy-breaking, direct inbound modem access. Right. He even mentioned his vacation in Vail, which conveniently matched the greeting on Gabe Nault\u2019s voicemail. But it all felt wrong.\u201d\n\n\n\n\u201cWith a feeling of suspicion creeping in, I played it cool,\u201d Nunley wrote. \u201cI said, \u2018Hey man, I\u2019d love to help you out, but I can\u2019t do what you want from here at home anyway, so I\u2019ll have to do it in the morning as soon as I get to the office. But in case I forget, please leave me a voicemail.\u2019 He agreed, and that was that.\u201d\n\n\n\n\u201cWhen I got to work, the voicemail was there, and I immediately recorded it onto a cassette recorder for safekeeping,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThat recording became the primary evidence in Kevin\u2019s case.\u201d\n\n\n\nWhen Mitnick was caught, that\u2019s when Nunley learned that the voicemail was the only meaningful evidence that the Justice Department had against him. At first, he was on board with the prosecution, but after five years of trial delays, Nunley grew weary of the way the law was treating his adversary, and he stopped working with the DOJ. Shortly thereafter, Mitnick took a plea deal and was released.\n\n\n\nWhen he got out, Mitnick contacted Nunley to apologize. Their bury-the-hatchet moment was even immortalized by Wired, and they went on to become good friends. \n\n\n\nMitnick was barred from selling the story of his legal entanglements for seven years after his release, invoking legal precedent intended to curb profiteering by serial killers. But Mitnick was able to find plenty of work teaching people how to defend against the intrusion tactics he\u2019d spent decades refining. He would go on to found two consulting businesses, one of which his family still owns and operates.\n\n\n\nWhen Mitnick passed from pancreatic cancer in 2023, he left Nunley a gift\u2014enough to buy his dream car, a 911 Carrera 4 GTS. \n\n\n\n\u201cI have had a wonderful time watching him develop into a real man,\u201d Nunley said of his friend. \u201cI am truly sad he is gone as he was a big part of my life for the last quarter century.\u201d\n\n\n\nWith any luck, he\u2019ll have his 911 for at least another quarter century, if not more. \n\n\n\nh/t to Zerin! Got a news tip? 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