Kingpin

To that end, Max has volunteered to help the government during his confinement, defending U.S. networks or perhaps counterattacking foreign adversaries online. He wrote out a menu of the services he could offer in a memo headed “Why the USA Needs Max.” “I could penetrate China’s military networks and military contractors,” he suggested. “I can hack al Qaida.” He’s hopeful he might do enough for the government that he could apply for a lowered sentence from his judge.

It’s a long shot, and so far, the feds haven’t taken him up on his offer. But a month after his sentencing, Max took a baby step in that direction. Keith Mularski arranged for Max to speak at the NCFTA for an eager audience of law enforcement officials, students, financial and corporate security experts, and academics from Carnegie Mellon.

Mularski checked him out of jail for the appearance. And for an hour or two, Max Vision was a white hat again.