AN IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL READERS OF THE 1999 GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS 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! 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 email to voice your opinion on this issue. (Corrections are in brackets and coloured red.) MOST NOTORIOUS HACKER CASE [Obviously this category isn't a real "world record" 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.] Hacker Kevin Mitnick is alleged to have broken into several major organizations' computer systems, including those of Sun Microsystems, Motorola, and the Pentagon. [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.] Mitnick was arrested on September 16, 1996 [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.] after an FBI computer expert [Here we can't be certain whether or not this is a factual misstatement since there is widespread belief that Tsutomu Shimomura (the alleged superhacker who helped track down Mr. Mitnick along with New York Times writer John Markoff and quickly went on to make a fortune writing a book called "Takedown" 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 Louis Freeh, 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.] tracked him down. He has since been charged with software theft, wire fraud, the interception of wire communications [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.] and computer vandalism [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.] Mitnick, the first hacker ever to have appeared on an FBI wanted poster, [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.] faces up to 12 years in prison if he is found guilty. [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.] 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.