UK hacker confirmed for US extradition

Posted on 7 Jul 2006 at 12:29

The decision to allow the extradition of the alleged US military hacker has been confirmed by the Home Secretary John Reid.

Gary McKinnon now has 14 days to appeal the Home Secretary's decision before he is handed over to the US authorities for trial in the States.

McKinnon, who was arrested in November 2002, was accused of breaking into US government computer networks. Specifically, he is alleged to have hacked into computer systems belonging to the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, Department of Defense and NASA, and viewed and deleted data between February 2001 and March 2002.

According to US prosecutors, McKinnon carried out the 'biggest military computer hack of all time', and he was indicted by a federal grand jury of eight charges of computer related crime. These included unlawful entry and criminal damage in 14 different States in the USA over a 12-month period. He is also accused of causing more than $700,000 in damage.

For his part, McKinnon has claimed that the systems he accessed were not properly protected and that his activities were not malicious and usefully highlighted security flaws. He has maintained that he was researching into evidence of anti-gravity propulsion systems and extra-terrestrial technologies. Furthermore, he has suggested that it was his viewing of an image depicting what he described as a UFO that motivated the authorities to see him in court.

Back in May, a UK court approved the extradition to the US, with Judge Nicholas Evans ruling in Bow Street Magistrates' Court ruling that extradition would not infringe his human rights.

Aside from the sensationalist War Games-like scenario of a lone hacker delving into Pentagon data, the case is controversial due to the current non-mutual extradition treaties between the US. For example, in the case of the 'Nat West Three', supporters of the defendants argue that British nationals should be tried in their own country wherever possible.

The 'Free Gary McKinnon' blog can be found at www.spy.org.uk/freegary/.

Author: Alun Williams