The computer revolution has changed the way we steal. Gun-toting gangsters have now been replaced by computer-savvy armchair nerds who can bankrupt a nation with a single keyboard sequence.
Buenos Aires stockbroker Robert Barbosa awoke on 16 August 1994 to discover his company had been relieved of $200,000 by a computer hacker. When the damage was assessed, the final figure stolen was $10.6million. This crime set US detectives on a trail that would lead them to a Russian cybergang and a young programmer called Vladimir Levin. Three years and thousands of miles later, Vladimir Levin sits in a Brixton jail in South London awaiting extradition to the US. Despite the 10,000 articles written about Levin, this unassuming young man has remained silent. Until now. The 28 year-old biology graduate expresses his innocence in this world exclusive Equinox interview.
The computer revolution has changed the way we steal. Gun-toting gangsters have now been replaced by computer-savvy armchair nerds who can bankrupt a nation with a single keyboard sequence.
Buenos Aires stockbroker Robert Barbosa awoke on 16 August 1994 to discover his company had been relieved of $200,000 by a computer hacker. When the damage was assessed, the final figure stolen was $10.6million. This crime set US detectives on a trail that would lead them to a Russian cybergang and a young programmer called Vladimir Levin. Three years and thousands of miles later, Vladimir Levin sits in a Brixton jail in South London awaiting extradition to the US.
Despite the 10,000 articles written about Levin, this unassuming young man has remained silent. Until now. The 28 year-old biology graduate expresses his innocence in this world exclusive Equinox interview.
