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30/07/2008
British UFO Hacker Loses Extradition Case
A British computer 'hacker' has lost a Law Lords appeal against being extradited to the US to stand trial for allegedily accessing top security information.
Gary McKinnon, a UFO enthusiast, faces charges in the United States for what is being described as a "series of cyber attacks" that stole passwords, compromised military networks and caused around $900,000 worth of computer damage.
Mr McKinnon's defence said that they would apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, to prevent his removal.
A statement from his solicitor, Karen Todner, said that McKinnon was "neither a terrorist nor a terrorist sympathiser".
"We believe that the British Government declined to prosecute him to enable the US authorities to make an example of him.
"The consequences he faces if extradited are both disproportionate and intolerable," she said.
Prosecutors maintain that Mr McKinnon "altered and deleted files" at a naval air station not long after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, "rendering critical systems inoperable".
It is alleged that between February 2001 and March 2002, he hacked into more than 90 US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defence computers, as well as 16 Nasa computers.
Mr McKinnon, who could face a long prison sentence in the US first lost his case at the High Court in 2006. He was arrested in 2002 but was not charged in the UK.
Mr McKinnon has admitted accessing computers in the US without authority but has said that he is merely a "computer nerd" whose motives where "harmless and innocent".
He said he did it because he wanted to find evidence that the US was concealing the existence of aliens.
The case could be treated as a terrorism case and could therefore carry a 60-year sentence in a maximum-security prison.
With UK cooperation, he would instead receive a lesser sentence of between 37 to 46 weeks and be repatriated to the UK, where he could be released on parole.
McKinnon was caught after some of the software used in the "attacks" was traced back to his girlfriend's email account.
(DS)
Gary McKinnon, a UFO enthusiast, faces charges in the United States for what is being described as a "series of cyber attacks" that stole passwords, compromised military networks and caused around $900,000 worth of computer damage.
Mr McKinnon's defence said that they would apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, to prevent his removal.
A statement from his solicitor, Karen Todner, said that McKinnon was "neither a terrorist nor a terrorist sympathiser".
"We believe that the British Government declined to prosecute him to enable the US authorities to make an example of him.
"The consequences he faces if extradited are both disproportionate and intolerable," she said.
Prosecutors maintain that Mr McKinnon "altered and deleted files" at a naval air station not long after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, "rendering critical systems inoperable".
It is alleged that between February 2001 and March 2002, he hacked into more than 90 US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defence computers, as well as 16 Nasa computers.
Mr McKinnon, who could face a long prison sentence in the US first lost his case at the High Court in 2006. He was arrested in 2002 but was not charged in the UK.
Mr McKinnon has admitted accessing computers in the US without authority but has said that he is merely a "computer nerd" whose motives where "harmless and innocent".
He said he did it because he wanted to find evidence that the US was concealing the existence of aliens.
The case could be treated as a terrorism case and could therefore carry a 60-year sentence in a maximum-security prison.
With UK cooperation, he would instead receive a lesser sentence of between 37 to 46 weeks and be repatriated to the UK, where he could be released on parole.
McKinnon was caught after some of the software used in the "attacks" was traced back to his girlfriend's email account.
(DS)
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28 August 2008
British 'Hacker' Loses US Extradition Appeal
A British computer expert, accused of hacking into secret military computers has today lost his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, and now faces extradition to the US. Gary McKinnon, born in Glasgow, will face extradition to the United States in the next fortnight, his solicitor has said.
British 'Hacker' Loses US Extradition Appeal
A British computer expert, accused of hacking into secret military computers has today lost his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, and now faces extradition to the US. Gary McKinnon, born in Glasgow, will face extradition to the United States in the next fortnight, his solicitor has said.
16 October 2012
Computer Hacker McKinnon Will Not Be Extradition
Home Sectrary Theresa May has decided that computer hacker Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the United States, citing human right grounds. She said that there was such a high risk of McKinnon, 46, who has Asperger's syndrome and suffers from depressive illness, ending his life that it was incompatible with his human rights.
Computer Hacker McKinnon Will Not Be Extradition
Home Sectrary Theresa May has decided that computer hacker Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the United States, citing human right grounds. She said that there was such a high risk of McKinnon, 46, who has Asperger's syndrome and suffers from depressive illness, ending his life that it was incompatible with his human rights.
10 May 2006
UK hacker faces extradition to the US
A British computer hacker is facing extradition to the US, following a court ruling today. District Judge Nicholas Evans, sitting at Bow Magistrates' Court in London, recommended that Gary McKinnon should be extradited to the US to face trial for what has been described as "the biggest military hack of all time.
UK hacker faces extradition to the US
A British computer hacker is facing extradition to the US, following a court ruling today. District Judge Nicholas Evans, sitting at Bow Magistrates' Court in London, recommended that Gary McKinnon should be extradited to the US to face trial for what has been described as "the biggest military hack of all time.
09 October 2009
Pentagon 'Hacker' Loses Extradition Trial
After three years fighting extradition to the USA, a British computer hacker who breached top-secret defence computers may now be facing more than 60 years in jail. Gary McKinnon has been refused permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to US.
Pentagon 'Hacker' Loses Extradition Trial
After three years fighting extradition to the USA, a British computer hacker who breached top-secret defence computers may now be facing more than 60 years in jail. Gary McKinnon has been refused permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court against his extradition to US.
30 June 2006
Three sentenced to life over 'revenge killing'
Three men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to murder a married couple in Lincolnshire. John Stirland, 55 and his wife Joan, 51, were shot dead at their home in Trusthope in August 2004. The killings had been triggered by a murder carried out by Mrs Stirland's son in Nottingham in 2003.
Three sentenced to life over 'revenge killing'
Three men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to murder a married couple in Lincolnshire. John Stirland, 55 and his wife Joan, 51, were shot dead at their home in Trusthope in August 2004. The killings had been triggered by a murder carried out by Mrs Stirland's son in Nottingham in 2003.
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