http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540930/Worlds-greatest-hacker-blasts-shameful-Healthcare-gov-minimal-security-protections.htmlWorld's greatest hacker blasts 'shameful' Healthcare.gov for its 'minimal, if any' security protections
Kevin Mitnick says creators of the troubled site 'did not consider security as a priority'
Mitnick was once the most wanted criminal hacker in the world
Vulnerabilities revealed as congressional meet to showcase what they call major security problems
By Daily Mail Reporter and Reuters
PUBLISHED: 18:26 EST, 16 January 2014 | UPDATED: 20:25 EST, 16 January 2014
A man who was once the FBI's most wanted hacker says Healthcare.gov is a cybercriminal's dream.
Kevin Mitnick has been a legend in the hacking world since his 1990s heydays, but he's now playing for the good guys and sent a dire message to a congressional security panel on the ObamaCare website on Thursday.
'It's shameful the team that built the Healthcare.gov site implemented minimal, if any, security best practices,' he wrote in a letter submitted to panel chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican.
Mitnick served five years in prison for hacking into corporate computers and stealing software after a three-year cat and mouse game with federal authorities.
After he got out in 2000, he put his unparalleled hacking prowess to use helping the sorts of companies he once burglarized.
'it's clear that the management team did not consider security as a priority,' said the Las Vegas-based security expert.
In 2011, Mitnick told America his tale of intrigue and technological feats in the memoir Ghost in the Wires.
Now he's telling the nation to watch out for people like him out to exploit he site's shoddy security.
Mitnick was backed up by CEO of consulting firm TrustedSec LLC David Kennedy.
'HealthCare.gov is not secure today,' Kennedy told the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
HealthCare.gov is the consumer web portal to a 36-state federal health insurance marketplace, which offers private insurance, with federally subsidized rates for some consumers. The 14 other states have built their own marketplaces.
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