Famed US hacker helps Ecuador secure its vote

QUITO (AFP) - Kevin Mitnick, who once gained notoriety as America's most wanted computer hacker, now heads a thriving Internet consultancy tasked with helping keep Sunday's presidential elections in Ecuador secure.

"Eighteen years ago I was busted for hacking. I do the same thing today but with full authorisation. How cool is that?" Mitnick wrote on his @kevinmitnick Twitter account on the eve of the vote.

Mr Mitnick, 49, was behind a spree of break-ins of hundreds of corporate, university and personal computers on the Internet during the 1990s, with blue chip targets that included the Apple Computer, Motorola and the FBI.

After being caught and convicted for 15 years of cybercrimes, he was imprisoned between 1995 and 2000. Today his company, Mitnick Security Consulting, helps to reinforce the very same security vulnerabilities that he once used his considerable hacking skills to exploit.