The world of hacking is shrouded in mystery, intrigue and danger. A talented hacker is capable of breaking into the most secure systems, stealing confidential data and manipulating systems. There are a few hackers who have become famous due to their remarkable attacks and brazen law-breaking with the aid of their hacking skills.

Here are the world’s most famous hackers and their fascinating stories:

1. Kevin Mitnick – Known as the “Condor” in the hacking community, Kevin a hacker in the 80s and 90s broke into the systems of Motorola, Sun Microsystems and other major tech firms. He was arrested in 1995 after a massive hunt that lasted two years. His story was so shocking that Hollywood even made a movie called “Track Down” based on it. Following his arrest, Kevin went on to write books on tech security, and even runs his own computer security consultancy today.

2. Adrian Lamo – He is perhaps the most famous “white-hat” hacker. Lamo broke into systems such as The New York Times, Yahoo! and Microsoft, but only with the intent of exposing vulnerabilities in their systems. Lamo’didn’t get away with his crimes for too long as he was caught and later faced charges of hacking into the New York Times’ systems.

3. Jonathan James – Known as “c0mrade” in the hacking world, Jonathan became America’s first juvenile hacker to face a prison sentence in 2000 when he hacked NASA and stole sensitive software. Jonathan maintained his innocence and even declared that he wanted to work with the FBI to enhance security measures.

4. Gary McKinnon – Hailing from the UK, Gary is known for infiltrating NASA’s and US military computer systems intending to reveal hidden truths about UFOs. He managed to evade law enforcement for many years, but eventually, the US and UK authorities caught up with him and he faced an extradition trial to the US until the UK ultimately blocked his extradition citing his mental health conditions.

5. Anonymous – A collective of hackers, Anonymous has been in the news for both good and bad reasons. They are known for their use of the Guy Fawkes’ mask and have hacked into systems of high-profile targets like the Church of Scientology and the Westboro Baptist Church.