British man to face hacking charges in U.S.

Gary McKinnon has lost his legal challenge against extradition to the United States to face charges of hacking into NASA and military systems.

McKinnon had applied to the European Court of Human Rights for it to hear an appeal against his extradition. Under Rule 39, citizens can make an emergency application to halt extradition proceedings, if they believe that their human rights will be infringed upon.

Gary McKinnon

(Credit: ZDNet UK)

McKinnon's legal team on Thursday sent out a statement saying his application had been denied. "Today the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Mr. McKinnon's application for Rule 39 Interim Relief," the lawyers said on the statement.

Two weeks ago, McKinnon's legal team submitted his application to the ECHR. Under the terms of the application, the U.K. government could not extradite McKinnon. This legal block has now been lifted.

"The temporary prohibition of our client's extradition, as granted by the ECHR on 12 August, is now effectively lifted, and the authorities of the United Kingdom are now free to extradite our client to the United States," the legal team said in the statement.

Karen Todner, McKinnon's attorney, told ZDNet UK on Thursday that McKinnon had run out of legal-challenge options. "In terms of legal challenges and court proceedings, we've gone as far as we can," Todner said.

However, McKinnon has recently been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Todner said she had written to home secretary Jacqui Smith asking that McKinnon be tried in the United Kingdom on medical grounds.

"We've written to the secretary of state, asking her to reconsider and keep (McKinnon) in the country," Todner said. "We've asked for two weeks to put the medical evidence before her."

Should that request be turned down by the home secretary, McKinnon could be extradited within two weeks. Todner said it normally takes 10 days to sort out the flights. McKinnon would not be taken into custody--instead, Todner said that normally, the police contact the solicitor asking that the accused surrender to a police station a couple of hours before takeoff.

Should McKinnon be found guilty of the charges laid against him, he faces up to 60 years in a U.S. prison. McKinnon has admitted to hacking into the U.S. systems, but has always maintained that he was searching for UFOs. "His family (is) distraught," Todner said.

Todner added that the alleged offenses were committed on British soil, and that the prosecution should be carried out by the U.K. authorities. "Our client now faces the prospect of prosecution and imprisonment thousands of miles away from his family in a country in which he has never set foot," she said.

Tom Espiner of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[blkno3]

Ahhhh, boo hoo.....Now he has a conscience...What else has he hacked into that the authorities have yet too find?

[jasonschlachter]

don't see any reason why he can't be prosecuted in the UK

[tacit]

He can't be prosecuted in the UK because his crime did not take place in the UK.

[Travis Ernst]

Foreign soil Jason. The US wants to throw the books at him (most likely) and make a large example with all the media they can gather to say "don't do this or we will do the same to you". Typical US not liking freedom to hack. Especially when THEY leave the doors wide open on some of their computers.

Medical can be a wild card to play with the courts, depending on the condition. It can work, and other officials ignore anything and everything without giving it any logic thought.

[DigitalFrog]

He may have launched his attack from the UK, but the crime was actually commited when he entered the US systems. I could see it go either way, but he knew what the consequences could be when he did the action.

As to the doors wide open, if you accidentally leave your house unlocked, does that give burglars the right to enter? This was a deliberate, premeditated act, and deserves prosecution. 70 years seems a bit much, but there has to be some kind of a deterrent made.

[zmonster]

Good! Let this case go to trial, but if it does the government should be forced to come clean (under oath) on what they are hiding related to the UFO topic. If ANYTHING McKinnon says he found is true, then the government is a) blatantly lying to its citizens, b) spending tax payer money in a completely unauthorized, unchecked, and illegal fashion, and c) putting the public at risk by not releasing technologies that can apparently defy gravity and prevent any future airplane crashes (among many other benefits).

[n3td3v]

He isn't getting 60 / 70 years. The 60 / 70 year claim by the Mckinnon lawyers was just a legal angle to try and stop him getting sent to U.S.

Nasa hacker exploits known media vulnerabilities
https://groups.google.com/group/n3td3v/browse_thread/thread/23000b1516766a41/

[robert1275]

If a U.S. citizen hacked into a British computer system then an American citizen can be extradited to the U.K. What's fair is fair.

[Travis Ernst]

zMonster, The US will pull a Gag order, claiming national security, so the transcripts will be sealed from ever coming out. This happens in court cases (one going on NOW in SF district court) where the companies claim there are "trade secrets" that will hurt them if they come out on record.

As for failing to lock your doors, Courts have found the owner at fault in some cases and insurance never paid (can't find link, aired on TV). Stupidity is not an excuse. There exists software to protect computers, and our government has some of the largest funding to pay for it. Yet they leave open preinstalled accounts many times (Guest, Field service to name two default accounts I have used on campus, access via dialup). You leave the keys in your BMW and it gets stolen you are not at fault? Sorry courts will disagree with you.

Changing passwords every XX days is one of the best ways to avoid intrusion on large systems, also blocking backtracking through .200 ports. Those are some of the most commonly overlooked gaps.

[ferretboy88]

If he was a good "hacker" then he would not have been caught.

[cyclelogicpress.com]

Does that mean he's going to be abducted by aliens?

[paulej]

He ought to get nothing more than a scolding and the folks who really ought to get thrown in jail are the folks in the government who are clearly negligent in their responsibilities to keep systems secure. Why is it that the "hacker" (who in this case has little skill in the art, as I understand) takes the fall for the pathetic security employed by the government? Something just isn't right here and I hope this is brought out in court.

[ferretboy88]

If I leave my door unlocked does that mean you should come and steal my stuff? No.

[ferretboy88]

Off with his head.