hacker

Gary McKinnon's potential extradition to the U.S. for hacking military systems is on hold for the next few weeks, McKinnon's lawyer has told ZDNet UK.

On Tuesday, McKinnon appeared at the High Court in London for an oral hearing about his extradition. McKinnon has always admitted hacking into the NASA and Pentagon systems--a crime for which he could face up to 70 years in prison if he were found guilty by a U.S. court--but denies causing damage to the extent claimed by the U.S.

Late last December, McKinnon sent a confession to Keir Starmer, the … Read more

Self-confessed hacker Gary McKinnon has told U.K. prosecutors he will plead guilty to charges in the U.K., a move that could help him avoid extradition to the U.S.

McKinnon has been accused by U.S. prosecutors of "the biggest military hack of all time," after entering NASA and Pentagon systems. His solicitor, Karen Todner, sent a letter to Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, to say McKinnon would plead guilty if tried in the U.K. under the Computer Misuse Act (CMA). The letter was sent on December 23, Todner told ZDNet UK on … Read more

Thanks to Google, they know where you live. Thanks to Twitter, they know when you floss your teeth.

Now a devious, perhaps ludicrously insane, hacker has taken it further. He (must be a 'he.' Women can spell and are never rude) found his way into the twitterdom of celebrities and tinkered with their tweets.

For example, he attempted to suggest to twitterers of Britney Spears foul words that would surely never have emerged from her imagination. He implied to followers of Rick Sanchez that the CNN anchor partakes of scientifically concocted substances, surely a (free)baseless lie.

Even the President-elect'… Read more

An unlocked iPhone 3G appears to be closer to reality.

Just two days after Apple released its iPhone 2.2 update, the iPhone Dev Team has released a so-called jailbreak of the firmware.

The team of hackers on Saturday posted to its blog QuickPwn for 2.2 and PwnageTool for 2.2 for Windows and Macintosh machines, along with instructions on how enable iPhone 3Gs with the 2.2 firmware to accept third-party applications.

The blog also includes a word of caution about baseband, the chip that controls the connection between the phone and the mobile-phone network:

Think of it … Read more

As expected, Apple CEO Steve Jobs made news on Tuesday with new notebook PCs as well price cuts which put the company's heretofore pricey portables under the $1,000 level. But will that be enough to spark consumer buying in the face on an increasingly uncertain economy? CNET News' Erica Ogg was on hand for the product introduction, and she reports back on what she heard.

Today's stories:

Apple polishes up its MacBook line

Alleged Nasa hacker loses another appeal

Microsoft creates education czar

Sirius XM chief: Yes, we will be profitable… Read more

The man accused by the U.S. government of accessing more than 73,000 U.S. military machines has lost his second appeal to the British Home Office against extradition.

Gary McKinnon's recent diagnosis of having Asperger's syndrome, a condition on the autistic spectrum, had not changed Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's decision that the self-confessed NASA hacker be extradited, McKinnon attorney Karen Todner said Monday.

"The secretary of state has advised via the treasury solicitors that, despite Mr. McKinnon's diagnosis with Asperger's, she will now be making arrangements for his extradition, pursuant to her … Read more

Update October 8 at 9:47 a.m. PDT: Due to technical problems, only part of this podcast was available when it published. It's working now. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Public-transit riders around the world may have new concerns when boarding trains. A new joint report from European universities indicates that a certain kind of subway card used the world over is extremely susceptible to being hacked. CNET News senior writer Elinor Mills explains the process and what you can do to keep your personal information safe.

Too often feel that wave of regret the next morning after … Read more

Michael Calce, aka "Mafiaboy," has written a memoir about how he temporarily shut down a handful of major Web sites and led the FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a manhunt when he was 15.

Due out next week, "Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken," is a tell-all book and "cautionary tale" about how the teen (now 23) learned to hack from other "online rebels," according to The National Post.

His denial-of-service attack brought down the Web sites of CNN, Yahoo, Amazon.com, eBay, E*… Read more

Updated at 7:55 a.m. PT on Wednesday to specify that the FBI cleared Mitnick of any wrongdoing in this event.

Since being released from prison eight years ago, Kevin Mitnick's brushes with the law have consisted of a few parking tickets and a citation for driving without a front license plate--that is, until he returned from a trip to Colombia two weeks ago.

After landing at the Atlanta airport for a security conference, Mitnick was detained for four hours for reasons still not fully explained. To make matters worse, while customs officials in Atlanta were busy inspecting his cell phone, laptop, and luggage, police in Bogota were ripping open a package he had mailed to his U.S. address on suspicion that it contained cocaine.

The simultaneous incidents gave Mitnick deja vu of his days as a fugitive pursued by the FBI for breaking into computer networks, only this time, he hadn't broken any laws.

"There was uncertainty, fear, and panic because I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't do anything wrong," he said in a recent telephone interview with CNET News. "In my mind, I thought I was being set up for something."

Here's a rundown of what happened:

Mitnick's Delta Airlines plane landed in Atlanta on September 16 at around 3 p.m. He had flown in from Bogota, where he had gone to give a speech to the newspaper El Tiempo and to visit his girlfriend.

The first sign of trouble was when a U.S. customs agent swiped his passport through the computer system and started staring intently at the screen and typing. "Kevin," the agent said with a big smile on his face. "Guess what? There are some people downstairs who want to have a word with you, but don't worry. Everything will be OK." … Read more