The best hackers on earth ?

I was wondering who is the number 1 hacker on earth, and after reading several website i found something interesting about what they’re doing to be the famous hackers of all time. And most of them are doing something unpredictable / amazing / whatever you call it. But if its for me i think that the best hackers on earth is Kevin Poulsen. And i choose him because he’s the only person i’ve ever heard that can took over all telephone lines going into Los Angeles area radio station KIIS-FM just to make sure he’s the 102nd caller to get himself a Porsche 944 S2 !!! and that sure was the amazing thing that a person can do with his abilities in real life !!!

Quoted from Wikipedia :

Kevin Poulsen (born 1965 in Pasadena, California, USA) is currently a senior editor at Wired News.

Before seguing into journalism, he had a notorious career in the 1980s as a cracker whose handle was Dark Dante. He worked for SRI International by day, and hacked at night. During this time, Poulsen taught himself lock picking, and engaged in a brash spree of high-tech stunts that would ultimately make him one of America’s best-known cyber-criminals. Among other things, Poulsen reactivated old Yellow Page escort telephone numbers for an acquaintance that then ran a virtual escort agency.

His best-appreciated hack was a takeover of all of the telephone lines for Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM, guaranteeing that he would be the 102nd caller, and netting him a Porsche 944 S2.

The other hackers im proud of his abilities is Vladimir Levin. He’s the first person that can trick Citibank’s computers into spitting $10.000.000 !!! And because of Vladimir Levin too, Citibank began using the Dynamic Encryption Card which is unique to Citibank.

Quoted from Answers :

Vladimir Levin is the “handle” of the mathematician who is alleged to be the mastermind of the Russian cracker gang that stole US$10 million from Citibank’s computer system. The bank was hacked from AO Saturn, a St. Petersburg, Russia, computer firm. Levin used his office computer to hack into Citibank’s cash management system and transferred money to Finland, Israel, and California. Levin and his gang were apprehended by Interpol at Heathrow Airport. All but $400,000 of the stolen $10 million was recovered by the authorities. For two years after his arrest, Levin resisted extradition to the United States, but lost his case. He was then sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay Citibank $240,015, his share from the heist. Since this hack, Citibank began using the Dynamic Encryption Card. This security system is unique to Citibank. A 1995 Byte Magazine Article has more detail, but until 2005, the exact method he used to obtain the passwords was unknown. The hacker likely chose this name for its Robin Hood-like associations.

In 2005 information about the case was spilled in Russian computer press by the actual hackers as the period of limitation of US law passed. In 2005 the actual members of the hacker group which hacked Citibank were respected figures in Russian IT business. Vladimir Levin is said to have bought the hack from one of the members of the group for $100

And that’s about it. But if you want to know more info about this subject, you should visit Hackers Hall of Fame page