Two high-profile security professionals -- security researcher Dan Kaminsky and former hacker Kevin Mitnick -- were targeted by hackers this week in what appears to be an attempt to call into question the duo's credibility right on the eve of the Black Hat and DefCon security conference.

"There are people who just live press release by press release," the hackers wrote in note posted on Kaminsky's website. "And on top of it all, somehow you STILL have not got rid of Kevin Mitnick. The industry cares about virtualization one year and iPhones the next, every year forgetting the lessons it should have picked up in the last."

The hackers also stole personal data and posted it online, which included private emails between Kaminsky and other security researchers, very personal chat logs, and a list of files Kaminsky downloaded that pertain to dating and other topics, Wired reports.

After discovering a flaw in the DNS protocol, Kaminsky received the Pwnie award for the "Most overhyped security vulnerability" at Black Hat 2008. Mitnick was once considered "the most wanted computer criminal in United States history" by the government but has been accused by some in the hacking community as living off a dated reputation.

Image Credit: chotoan.com