It is difficult to say who the best hacker because major part of them are anonimous but we can create a great list of most knowledgeable hackers in history. Additionally, many of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers are not well-known to the general public, as they may work for organizations or governments and operate in secret. However, some well-known hackers who are known for their expertise and knowledge include:
- Kevin Mitnick
- Adrian Lamo
- Gary McKinnon
- John Draper
- Kevin Poulsen
- Albert Gonzalez
- Robert Tappan Morris
- Jonathan James
- David L. Smith
- Eugene Kaspersky
Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick is a well-known hacker and security consultant. He gained notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s for his hacking exploits, which included gaining unauthorized access to the computer systems of several major corporations and government agencies. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, but has since been released and now works as a security consultant and public speaker. He is the author of several books on hacking and security, and is considered one of the most knowledgeable and skilled hackers of all time.
Adrian Lamo
Adrian Lamo is a well-known hacker and security researcher. He gained notoriety in the early 2000s for his hacking exploits, which included gaining unauthorized access to the computer systems of major corporations and news organizations. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, but has since been released and now works as a security consultant and public speaker. He is known for his expertise in network security and penetration testing, and is considered one of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers of all time.
Gary McKinnon
Gary McKinnon is a Scottish hacker who gained notoriety in the early 2000s for his hacking exploits, which included gaining unauthorized access to the computer systems of several major corporations and government agencies, including NASA and the Pentagon. His actions caused significant damage to the systems and resulted in millions of dollars in losses. He was eventually arrested and faced extradition to the United States, but was ultimately allowed to remain in the UK and was sentenced to a two-year community service order. He is considered one of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers of all time.
John Draper
John Draper, also known as Captain Crunch or Crunch, is a well-known hacker and security researcher. He gained notoriety in the 1970s for his hacking exploits, which included using a toy whistle from a box of Cap’n Crunch cereal to create a tone that could be used to manipulate phone systems. He has since worked as a security consultant and public speaker, and is considered one of the pioneers of the modern hacking community. He is known for his expertise in computer security and for his contributions to the development of hacking tools and techniques.
Kevin Poulsen
Kevin Poulsen is a well-known hacker and security researcher. He gained notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s for his hacking exploits, which included gaining unauthorized access to the computer systems of major corporations and government agencies. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, but has since been released and now works as a journalist and security consultant. He is known for his expertise in computer security and for his investigative journalism on technology and cybercrime. He is considered one of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers of all time.
Albert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez is a well-known hacker who gained notoriety in the late 2000s for his involvement in a series of large-scale cyber crimes, including the theft of millions of credit card numbers from major retailers. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, but has since been released. He is considered one of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers of all time, and his crimes were among the largest and most damaging in history.
Robert Tappan Morris
Robert Tappan Morris is a well-known computer scientist and hacker who is known for creating the first computer worm to spread on the internet. The Morris worm was released in 1988 and quickly infected thousands of computers, causing significant disruption to internet traffic. Morris was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, but has since gone on to have a successful career as a professor of computer science at MIT. He is considered one of the pioneers of the modern hacking community and is known for his expertise in computer security and network engineering.
Jonathan James
Jonathan James was a well-known hacker who gained notoriety in the late 1990s for his hacking exploits, which included gaining unauthorized access to the computer systems of major corporations and government agencies. He was the first minor to be prosecuted for cybercrime in the United States, and was sentenced to prison. He was released on parole in 2006 and committed suicide the following year. He is considered one of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers of all time, and his actions were among the first to draw widespread attention to the issue of cybercrime.
David L. Smith
David L. Smith was a well-known hacker who gained notoriety in the late 1990s for creating the Melissa virus, one of the first widely-disseminated email viruses. The Melissa virus was released in 1999 and quickly spread, infecting thousands of computers and causing significant disruption to email systems. Smith was eventually arrested and sentenced to prison, but has since been released. He is considered one of the most skilled and knowledgeable hackers of all time, and his actions were among the first to highlight the potential dangers of email-borne viruses.
Eugene Kaspersky
Eugene Kaspersky is a well-known computer scientist and cybersecurity expert. He is the founder and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, a leading cybersecurity and antivirus software company. He is known for his expertise in computer security and for his contributions to the development of antivirus and anti-malware technologies. He is considered one of the foremost authorities on cybersecurity and is a respected figure in the global cybersecurity community.