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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.
31 July 2009
Hacker Loses Appeal Against US Extradition
British hacker Gary McKinnon has lost his latest High Court legal action to avoid extradition to the USA. Mr McKinnon, 43, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, is accused of the "biggest military hack of all time", accessing 97 government computers belonging to organisations including the US military and Nasa.
Hacker Loses Appeal Against US Extradition
British hacker Gary McKinnon has lost his latest High Court legal action to avoid extradition to the USA. Mr McKinnon, 43, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, is accused of the "biggest military hack of all time", accessing 97 government computers belonging to organisations including the US military and Nasa.
07 July 2006
UK hacker to be extradited to the US
A British computer hacker accused of orchestrating "the biggest military hack of all time" is to be extradited to the US, it was announced today. Gary McKinnon, 40, from north London, faces more than 50 years in jail for hacking into computers at the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Defense and NASA between February 2001 and March 2002.
UK hacker to be extradited to the US
A British computer hacker accused of orchestrating "the biggest military hack of all time" is to be extradited to the US, it was announced today. Gary McKinnon, 40, from north London, faces more than 50 years in jail for hacking into computers at the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Defense and NASA between February 2001 and March 2002.
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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