Hacker Gary McKinnon loses appeal against extradition to US

North London computer expert hacked into 97 US military
computers

‘Super hacker’ Gary McKinnon. Photograph: Getty
Images

Gary McKinnon, a computer expert who hacked into dozens of US military
computers, lost his appeal to the European court of human rights today and faces
extradition to the US in the next fortnight, his solicitor said.

McKinnon has fought a long battle with authorities over his extradition to
the US, which has dubbed him the "the world’s most dangerous hacker".

McKinnon broke into the Pentagon’s system from his north London flat and left
a message saying "your security is crap".

Last month, he lost his battle against extradition in a House
of Lords ruling.

McKinnon turned to the European court of human rights, complaining about the
conditions he would face if convicted in the US and was granted a temporary
delay.

The court did not
give reasons for refusing McKinnon’s request today.

Karen Todner, from Kaim Todner solicitors, said her client was "distraught"
about the decision. She appealed to the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, to
intervene.

"Mr McKinnon has recently been diagnosed as suffering from Asperger’s
syndrome. As a result, we will be writing to the home secretary again inviting a
prosecution in this country," she said.

"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.

"Our client’s case highlights a worrying trend where UK citizens are at the
mercy of the ever-increasing tendency of overseas prosecutors to extend their
jurisdiction to crimes allegedly committed in this country."

Using the codename Solo, the 42-year-old hacked into 53 US army computers and
26 US navy computers, including those at the US naval weapons station Earle in
New Jersey, which is responsible for replenishing munitions and supplies for the
Atlantic fleet.

The US military said he left 300 computers unusable at a US navy weapons
station immediately after 9/11.

He was caught in 2002 as he tried to download a grainy black-and-white
photograph he believed was an alien spacecraft from a Nasa computer at the
Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.

He was easily traced by the authorities because he used his own email
address.

Mark Summers, an official representing the US government, said McKinnon’s
hacking was "intentional and calculated to influence and affect the US
government by intimidation and coercion".

American officials claim he caused $700,000 (£354,000) damage and threatened
national security.

If extradited, McKinnon faces up to 70 years in prison and his lawyers have
argued he could even be given "enemy combatant" status, the same category
applied to terrorist suspects interned at Guantánamo Bay.

McKinnon, an unemployed IT worker from north London, has consistently argued
that he was merely a "bumbling computer nerd" who caused no damage but was
merely searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

"It got a bit silly," he
told the Guardian in 2005. "I suppose it means I’m not a secretive,
sophisticated, checking-myself-every-step-of-the-way type of hacker."

Between 2001 and 2002 he scanned thousands of US government computers from
his bedroom, looking for loopholes which would help him get inside their
networks in order to prove his contention that the existence of aliens had been
covered up by the CIA.

After last month’s House of Lords decision, McKinnon said the case had proved
devastating in the six years since he was arrested. With his bail conditions
barring him from using the internet, a return to his previous work in IT had
been nearly impossible and potential employers were scared off.

"I’ve lost two jobs because of this; my bosses just didn’t want to be
associated with the publicity," he said.

Todner denied McKinnon was a terrorist or a terrorist sympathiser and said
his case could have been dealt with by our prosecuting authorities in Britain
where the hacking raids were conducted. "American officials involved in this
case have stated that they want to see him fry. The consequences he faces if
extradited are both disproportionate and intolerable and we will be making an
immediate application to the European court to prevent his removal."

McKinnon would face a much shorter sentence under Britain’s computer crime
laws. The defence has argued he is being unfairly targeted because his work
embarrassed the US security services, and that an attempt by US prosecutors to
make a deal with McKinnon – in which he would be offered a six-month sentence
for his cooperation – constituted an unfair derailment of British legal
procedures. That contention was rejected by the law lords, who said granting the
appeal would "imperil the integrity of the extradition process".

Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood said in the written judgment: "The
difference between the American system and our own is not perhaps so stark as
the appellant’s argument suggests."

Computer security experts said it was unlikely US prosecutors would give up
their pursuit. "The US is making a clear stand that anyone making any attempts
to compromise its computers and data will face the consequences," said Graham
Cluley of the IT security company Sophos.

McKinnon’s extradition was brought under the controversial Extradition
Act 2003, which was designed to deal with terrorist suspects but has been
applied in cases where terrorism has not been the primary concern.

Under the act, America authorities are able to demand a Briton’s
extradition without having to provide evidence. However, Britain has to
prove its case in a US court to extradite US citizens to the UK.

The so-called Natwest Three were extradited under the same legislation in
2006 and this year
sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment.

Among the act’s critics is the former Tory MP Boris Johnson, now the London
mayor, who in 2005 called for extradition of British citizens to the US to
be suspended.