I started by hacking around the back yard in Richmond.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
My primary goal of hacking was the intellectual curiosity, the seduction of adventure.
I get hired to hack into computers now and sometimes it's actually easier than it was years ago.
I went from being a kid who loved to perform magic tricks to becoming the world's most notorious hacker, feared by corporations and the government.
My hacking involved pretty much exploring computer systems and obtaining access to the source code of telecommunication systems and computer operating systems, because my goal was to learn all I can about security vulnerabilities within these systems.
I was hooked in before hacking was even illegal.
I got so passionate about technology. Hacking to me was like a video game. It was about getting trophies. I just kept going on and on, despite all the trouble I was getting into, because I was hooked.
As a young boy, I was taught in high school that hacking was cool.
Hacking was the only entertainment that would occupy my mind - like a huge video game, but with real consequences. I could have evaded the FBI a lot longer if I had been able to control my passion for hacking.
I'm still a hacker. I get paid for it now. I never received any monetary gain from the hacking I did before. The main difference in what I do now compared to what I did then is that I now do it with authorization.
My hacking was all about becoming the best at circumventing security. So when I was a fugitive, I worked systems administrator jobs to make money. I wasn't stealing money or using other people's credit cards. I was doing a 9-to-5 job.