Raphael Gray (born 1981 in
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) is a British
computer hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
who, at the age of 19,
hacked computer systems around the world over a period of six weeks as part of a multi-million
pound credit card mission. He then proceeded to publish credit card details of over 6,500 cards as an example of weak security in the growing number of consumer websites.
Biography
Gray was able to break into the secure systems using an £800 computer he bought in his home town
Clynderwen
Clynderwen ( cy, Clunderwen; ) is a rural linear village and community (Wales), community, Historic counties of Wales, historically in Carmarthenshire in Wales, but administered as part of Pembrokeshire. It lies on the A478 road, A478 Tenby to Ca ...
,
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. After publishing the credit card info on his websites, Gray posted a personal message saying law enforcers would never find him "because they never catch anyone. The police can't hack their way out of a paper bag."
He also sent Viagra tablets to Bill Gates' address and then published what he claimed to be the billionaire's own number.
He was tracked down by ex-hacker Chris Davis who was insulted by Gray's "arrogance". It took Davis under a day to find Gray's information, which he then forwarded to the FBI. "The FBI was actually quite easy to deal with, although technically, they didn't really understand what it was I was explaining to them. The local police were also very polite, but they didn't understand it," said Davis.
Gray was arrested when FBI agents and officers from the local Dyfed Powys Police turned up at the door of his home, which he shared with his mother, brother and sister in March 2000.
Family
Raphael is the great-great-grandson of
Arthur von Hippel (physician)
Arthur von Hippel (24 October 1841 – 26 October 1916) was a German ophthalmologist who was a native of Fischhausen, East Prussia. He was the father of criminal lawyer Robert von Hippel (1866-1951), ophthalmologist Eugen von Hippel (1867-193 ...
. His father died when he was a very young child, meaning he was raised solely by his mother.
See also
*
List of convicted computer criminals
Convicted computer criminals are people who are caught and convicted of computer crimes such as breaking into computers or computer networks. Computer crime can be broadly defined as criminal activity involving information technology infrastruc ...
References
External links
PBS Interview with Raphael Gray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Raphael
1981 births
British computer criminals
English people of German descent
English people of Ugandan descent
Living people
People from Lambeth
People on the autism spectrum
People with traumatic brain injuries