[bigwill]

The list of the most famous hackers has been made over and over again and hasn't changed a whole lot (RTM, Mitnick v. Shimomura, ...), but it seems like the list of famous hacks continues to grow. Are these old school famous hackers really so famous they're that can't be unseated, or are the new jacks just getting the short end of the stick?

[caffeine]

I don't get why Shimomura is listed on there? Surely getting owned by Mitnick disqualifies him?

I think getting the FBI to step in qualifies as "winning" in the as much as screaming for your mommy and having her scold the other boy qualifies as "winning" a schoolyard fight. The other guy suffers worse consequences - but you definitely do not get to be the coolest hacker of all time.

The article was just plain uninspired.

[bigwill]

Agree on the uninspired point.

Yeah, Shimomura's role may well have been embellished, but as described in Takedown (there's some controversy around the veracity of the story), he was supposed involved in some fairly sophisticated stuff to help the FBI track Mitnick down.