Kristina Svechinskaya is a 23 year old Russian hacker and former student of New York University. While she was in school, Kristina came up with a plan to hack several banks and steal large sums of money using a well crafted piece of malware. She was also accused of forging passports. Allegedly, Svechinskaya collaborated with several other hackers and the group collectively stole over $3 million.
So why are we making her a GOTW? There’s nothing revolutionary about her story per se. It happens every day. Hackers come up with scams, steal money, and get busted. So what makes this lady GOTW worthy? Well… take a look at her. With emotive blue eyes and long flowing dark hair, Kristina is not your stereotypical hacker. She is 110% absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.
Despite her best efforts, Svechinskaya was indicted in 2010, and is currently awaiting sentencing. If convicted, she could face up to 40 years in prison. Similar to Julian Assange, an odd thing happened to her during this process… she became a media celebrity. Svechinskaya was given the title “the world’s sexiest hacker” and has since received a lot of press. She even maintains two blog sites for her plethora of fans.
I guess being a pretty girl really does get you places… even if you’re a hacker. Go Kristina. 
KALE: A geek who works in the IT Security field and lives in Omaha, NE. He is also a local musician and has played in several bands in the area. Previous to his IT career, Kale worked as a photojournalist. He brings technical advice and artistic counterpoint to the podcast. 
