I did get a huge endorphin rush when I was able to crack a system because it was like a video game.

I characterize myself as a retired hacker. I'm applying what I know to improve security at companies.

As a young boy, I was taught in high school that hacking was cool.

I was pretty much the government's poster boy for what I had done.

Hackers are breaking the systems for profit. Before, it was about intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge and thrill, and now hacking is big business.

Back in my day, I would probe by hand. Now you can get commercial software that does the job for you.

I use Mac. Not because it's more secure than everything else - because it is actually less secure than Windows - but I use it because it is still under the radar. People who write malicious code want the greatest return on their investment, so they target Windows systems. I still work with Windows in virtual machines.