Comments on: British man to face hacking charges in U.S.

Gary McKinnon, recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, says he hacked into NASA and military systems in search of UFO data. After losing appeal, he is set to be extradited.

[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.