PERSONAL BACKGROUND
- NAME: Adrian Lamo
- BORN: February 20, 1981
- WHERE: Boston, Massachusetts
- OCCUPATION: Threat Analyst
Adrian Lamo is a Columbian-American threat analyst and gay hat hacker. He started to gain popularity when he broke into high profile company computer networks, like Yahoo, Microsoft and the New York Times, which also led to his arrest in 2003. He is mostly known for his effort and discovery of Bradley Manning as the source of hundreds of thousands of sensitive government documents to WikiLeaks, which led to Manning’s arrest in 2010.
Lamo was born in February 20, 1981, in Boston, Massachusetts. He is popularly known as the “homeless hacker” for his transient lifestyle, he spent most of his travels couch surfing and travelling to Internet Cafes, libraries and universities to investigate networks and sometimes exploiting security holes. He nevertheless accepted payments for his services like vulnerability assessments for high profile companies. As of 2011, he went into hiding, claiming that his life was under threat after he turned Bradley Manning.
In February 2002 he broke into the internal computer network of The New York Times, adding his name to the internal database of expert sources, and using the paper’s LexisNexis account to conduct research on high-profile subjects. The New York Times filed a complaint, and a warrant for Lamo’s arrest was issued in August 2003 following a 15 month investigation by federal prosecutors in New York. At 10:15 AM on September 9, after spending a few days in hiding, he surrendered to the US Marshals in Sacramento, California. He re-surrendered to the FBI in New York City on September 11, and pled guilty to one felony count of computer crimes against Microsoft, LexisNexis and The New York Times on January 8, 2004.
Later in 2004, Lamo was sentenced to six months detention at his parents’ home plus two years probation, and was ordered to pay roughly $65,000 in restitution. He was convicted of compromising security at The New York Times and Microsoft, Yahoo! and MCI WorldCom.
When challenged for a response to allegations that he was glamorizing crime for the sake intrusions, with the court record quoting him as adding “I want to answer for what I have done and do better with my life.
