About Me / Biography

About the Author

Writer/columnist, Technical crimes and security

An authoritative, award-winning investigative writer on computer crime and security, Radcliff got her start by researching the life and characters around infamous hacker, Kevin Mitnick, in 1994-95 while he was on the run from the FBI. That research was background for a best selling book she's not at liberty to name. Since then, she's written extensively about security for business, technology and consumer magazines.

Radcliff's 1996 article for Byte Magazine titled "Barbarians at the Firewall" was used to train the FBI's new computer crime agents. She's covered computer security and online crime for Upside, InformationWeek, Computerworld, Infoworld, Network World, IndustryWeek, SecurityFocus and consumer magazines including Better Homes and Gardens. Her work has been picked up regularly by CNN, The Register, Slashdot, various crime fighting publications and thousands of other online sites. She's addressed the students and faculty at West Point Military Academy, presented at the University of North Texas' cyber crime prevention outreach, spoken at H.O.P.E. (Hackers on Planet Earth) conference in New York and elsewhere, and has been interviewed for large, metropolitan business radio stations and many online venues.

She's won many prestigious awards for her work, including two Jesse H. Neal Awards by the American Business Press: one for best individual feature for her cover story, "Hackers, Terrorists and Spies" (Software Magazine, 1998) and a second for group reporting, best news story, Computerworld, "Wireless LANs: Trouble in the Air," 2003. Most recently, her article for Network world on counterfeit networking gear getting into the legitimate distribution channel made it as a top three finalist for a Neal gold award in 2007.

Before working on the Mitnick book, Radcliff wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (a New York Times paper), and other newspapers and business journals. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Jose State University where she graduated with honors.