{"id":1106,"date":"2009-01-13T14:23:49","date_gmt":"2009-01-13T14:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/2009\/01\/13\/ufo-researcher-gary-mckinnon-signs-confession-to-avoid-hacking-extradition\/"},"modified":"2009-01-13T14:23:49","modified_gmt":"2009-01-13T14:23:49","slug":"ufo-researcher-gary-mckinnon-signs-confession-to-avoid-hacking-extradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/ufo-researcher-gary-mckinnon-signs-confession-to-avoid-hacking-extradition\/","title":{"rendered":"UFO Researcher Gary McKinnon signs confession to avoid hacking extradition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"small color-666\">\nJanuary 12, 2009<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"heading\">Gary McKinnon signs confession to avoid hacking extradition<\/h1>\n<\/p>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/js\/m24-image-browser.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><script src=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/js\/tol.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\n\/* Global variables that are used for &quot;image browsing&quot;. Used on article pages to rotate the images of a story. *\/\nvar sImageBrowserImagePath = &#39;&#39;;\nvar aArticleImages = new Array();\nvar aImageDescriptions = new Array();\nvar aImageEnlargeLink = new Array();\nvar aImageEnlargePopupWidth = &#39;500&#39;;\nvar aImageEnlargePopupHeight = &#39;500&#39;;\nvar aImagePhotographer = new Array();\nvar nSelectedArticleImage = 0;\nvar aImageAltText= new Array();\nvar i=0;\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\naArticleImages[i] = &#39;\/multimedia\/archive\/00390\/gary1_390003a.jpg&#39;;\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n&lt;!--\naImageDescriptions[i] = &quot;Gary McKinnon denies that he damaged any computers while searching for evidence of alien encounters&quot; ;\naImageDescriptions[i] = aImageDescriptions[i].replace(\/&amp;quot;\/g,&quot;\\&quot;&quot;);\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\naImagePhotographer[i] = &quot;Dave Bebber\/The Times&quot; ;\naImagePhotographer[i] = aImagePhotographer[i].replace(\/&amp;quot;\/g,&quot;\\&quot;&quot;);\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\naImageAltText[i] = &quot;Computer hacker Gary McKinnon &quot; ;\naImageAltText[i] = aImageAltText[i].replace(\/&amp;quot;\/g,&quot;\\&quot;&quot;);\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\naImageEnlargeLink[i] = &#39;\/multimedia\/archive\/00390\/gary1_390003a.jpg&#39;;\ni=i+1;\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"dynamic-image-holder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Computer hacker Gary McKinnon \" border=\"0\" height=\"185\" src=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/multimedia\/archive\/00390\/gary1_390003a.jpg\" title=\"Computer hacker Gary McKinnon \" width=\"385\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-landscape-image-text-container\">\n<div class=\"padding-left-right-10 padding-bottom-7\">\n<div class=\"padding-top-5\" id=\"dynamic-image-photographer\">\n<p class=\"x-small color-999\">(Dave Bebber\/The Times)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-landscape-image-text-container\">\n<div class=\"padding-left-right-10 padding-bottom-7\">\n<div class=\"padding-top-5\" id=\"dynamic-image-description\">\n<p class=\"small color-666\">Gary McKinnon denies that he damaged any computers while searching for evidence of alien encounters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pagination-container\" id=\"pagination-container\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\nfCreateImageBrowser(nSelectedArticleImage,&#39;landscape&#39;,&quot;\/tol\/&quot;);\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><\/div>\n<div id=\"main-article\">\n<div class=\"article-author\"><span class=\"small\"><\/span><span class=\"byline\"><br \/>\nNico Hines<br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"region-column1-layout2\">\n<div id=\"related-article-links\">\n<p>\nA UFO enthusiast who hacked into US military computers looking for evidence<br \/>\nthat aliens have visited Earth today signed a written confession in a<br \/>\nlast-ditch bid to avoid extradition.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nGary McKinnon, 42, from north London, faces a sentence of up to 80 years in<br \/>\nprison if he is found guilty in an American court of hacking into and<br \/>\ndamaging 97 US Navy, Army, Nasa and Pentagon computers.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMr McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger\u2019s Syndrome, has failed in numerous<br \/>\nappeals against the extradition. His lawyer hopes that by handing a signed<br \/>\nconfession to the Crown Prosecution Service he could be tried in the UK.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nKaren Todner, his lawyer, said he still denies causing damage to the computer<br \/>\nequipment, which cost $800,000 (\u00a3532,500) according to the US authorities.<br \/>\nHe signed a statement offering to plead guilty under UK law to hacking into<br \/>\nthe computers in breach of the Misuse of Computers Act.\n<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\nfunction pictureGalleryPopup(pubUrl,articleId) {\nvar newWin = window.open(pubUrl+&#39;template\/2.0-0\/element\/pictureGalleryPopup.jsp?id=&#39;+articleId+&#39;&amp;&amp;offset=0&amp;&amp;sectionName=UKCrime&#39;,&#39;mywindow&#39;,&#39;menubar=0,resizable=0,width=1000,height=711&#39;);\n}\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"float-left related-attachements-container\">\n<div class=\"related-attachements-top padding-top-10\">\n<h3 class=\"section-heading\">Related Links<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"related-attachements-side padding-top-7 padding-bottom-10 padding-right-7\">\n<div class=\"padding-bottom-5 padding-top-3\">\n<ul class=\"chevron-list chevron-blue\">\n<li><a class=\"link-666\" href=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/business\/law\/article4628575.ece\"><br \/>\nHacker in final plea to stop extradition<br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<form action=\"\" method=\"post\" name=\"relatedLinksform\"><\/form>\n<ul class=\"chevron-list chevron-blue\">\n<li><a class=\"link-666\" href=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/news\/uk\/crime\/article4428270.ece\"><br \/>\n&#39;Biggest ever hacker&#39; loses US extradition appeal<br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<form action=\"\" method=\"post\" name=\"relatedLinksform\"><\/form>\n<ul class=\"chevron-list chevron-blue\">\n<li><a class=\"link-666\" href=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/news\/uk\/article1607497.ece\"><br \/>\nBriton faces US court for hacking charges<br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<form action=\"\" method=\"post\" name=\"relatedLinksform\"><\/form>\n<form action=\"\" method=\"post\" name=\"relatedLinksform\">\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nMs Todner said she was awaiting a response from the director of public<br \/>\nprosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, but added she was hopeful prosecutors would<br \/>\naccept the deal.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cThey are different offences to what he was being extradited for, but it<br \/>\nreflects his culpability for what he did,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nA Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman confirmed they had received the letter<br \/>\nand were considering it.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe US military claims Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, left 300 computers at a<br \/>\nUS Navy weapons station unusable immediately after the September 11 terror<br \/>\nattacks in 2001.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHe is accused of hacking into 53 US Army computers and 26 US Navy computers,<br \/>\nincluding those at US Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, which is<br \/>\nresponsible for replenishing munitions and supplies for the Atlantic fleet.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHe is also accused of hacking into 16 Nasa computers, one US Department of<br \/>\nDefence computer and one machine belonging to the US Air Force.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHe was caught in 2002 as he tried to download a grainy black and white<br \/>\nphotograph which he believed was an alien spacecraft from a Nasa computer<br \/>\nhoused in the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHe was easily traced by the authorities because he used a personal e-mail<br \/>\naddress.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIf the case is heard in the US it is thought that he would receive a<br \/>\nrelatively light sentence and that, under a plea bargain offer, he would<br \/>\nspend six to 12 months in a US jail before being returned to Britain to<br \/>\nserve the rest of his time.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMcKinnon says he was looking for UFO files and his supporters have said this<br \/>\nwas an obsession that went too far.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHe has previously said: \u201cWhat I did was illegal and wrong and I accept I<br \/>\nshould be punished. But I am not a member of al-Qaeda. I believe my case is<br \/>\nbeing treated so seriously because they\u2019re scared of what I\u2019ve seen. I\u2019m<br \/>\nliving in a surreal, nutter\u2019s film.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAn application for permission for a judicial review of the proposed<br \/>\nextradition is expected to be heard at the High Court in London on January<br \/>\n20.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/news\/uk\/crime\/article5503814.ece\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.timesonline.co.uk\/tol\/news\/uk\/crime\/article5503814.ece<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2>McKinnon lawyers push for UK trial<\/h2>\n<div class=\"article-nav\" id=\"article-top-nav\">\n<ul>\n<li id=\"track-this-topic\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/2009\/01\/12\/mckinnon_uk_trial_letter\/alert.html\" title=\"Get email or RSS alerts for articles like this one\">Track this topic <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"17\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/Design\/graphics\/std\/track.png\" width=\"17\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/2009\/01\/12\/mckinnon_uk_trial_letter\/print.html\" title=\"View a printer-friendly version of this article\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"17\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/Design\/graphics\/std\/print.png\" width=\"17\" \/> Print story<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/comments.theregister.co.uk\/2009\/01\/12\/mckinnon_uk_trial_letter\/\" title=\"Join the discussion \u2014 post a comment on this article\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"17\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/Design\/graphics\/std\/comment.png\" width=\"17\" \/> Post comment<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"standfirst\">Joker played in attempt to avoid US extradition<\/p>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <a href=\"http:\/\/forms.theregister.co.uk\/mail_author\/?story_url=\/2009\/01\/12\/mckinnon_uk_trial_letter\/\" title=\"Send email to the author\">John Leyden<\/a> \u2022 <a class=\"more-by-author\" href=\"http:\/\/search.theregister.co.uk\/?author=John%20Leyden\" title=\"More stories on this site by John Leyden\">Get more from this author<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dateline\">Posted in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/public_sector\/law\/\">Law<\/a>, 12th January 2009 11:42&#0160;GMT<\/p>\n<p id=\"top-text-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whitepapers.theregister.co.uk\/paper\/view\/532\/?td=tltop\">Free Download &#8211; Comparing Data Center Batteries, Flywheels and Ultracapacitors<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"body\">\n<p>Lawyers for alleged Pentagon hacker Gary McKinnon have written to UK<br \/>\nprosecutors seeking a trial in Britain, in a move designed to frustrate<br \/>\nattempts to extradite the UFO enthusiast for trial in the US.<\/p>\n<p>The Crown Prosecution Service is evaluating a request from<br \/>\nMcKinnon&#39;s solicitors offering a guilty plea in a UK trial for offences<br \/>\nagainst the Misuse of Computers Act, the UK&#39;s computer hacking law. <em>The Guardian<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/technology\/2009\/jan\/12\/gary-mckinnon-extradition-computer-hacker\" target=\"_blank\">reports<\/a> any prosecution and punishment in Britain would make extradition to the US unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>McKinnon and his supporters have fought a long-running campaign to<br \/>\navoid his extradition to the US. The Scot, who was recently diagnosed<br \/>\nwith Asperger&#39;s syndrome, has the support of autism charities.<\/p>\n<p>A judicial review of the Home Secretary&#39;s decision to disregard his<br \/>\nrecent diagnosis in pressing ahead with McKinnon&#39;s extradition is<br \/>\nscheduled for 20 January.<\/p>\n<p>The failure of McKinnon&#39;s extradition appeal to the House of Lords<br \/>\nand a related petition to the European Court of Human Rights last year<br \/>\nmeant that the Scot&#39;s legal options had seemingly shrunk to an oral<br \/>\nreview of the Home Secretary&#39;s decision before a judge. The possibility<br \/>\nof a UK prosecution is therefore something of a wildcard.<\/p>\n<p>McKinnon faces a seven-count US indictment alleging that he broke<br \/>\ninto 97 US government, NASA and military systems during 2001 and 2002.<br \/>\nThe London-based Scot admitted his action when he was arrested and<br \/>\ntaken in for questioning by officers from the former National Hi-Tech<br \/>\nCrime Unit in 2002. According to McKinnon, British officers who<br \/>\nquestioned him spoke of lenient treatment and a UK trial if he pleaded<br \/>\nguilty to hacking offences. US attempts to extradite McKinnon only<br \/>\ncommenced in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors in the US allege that McKinnon caused damages in excess<br \/>\nof $700,000 in running the &quot;biggest military hack ever&quot;. McKinnon<br \/>\nadmits breaking into systems in his hunt for evidence that the US<br \/>\nmilitary had harvested advanced technology from crashed UFOs, but<br \/>\ndenies doing any damage. \u00ae<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/2009\/01\/12\/mckinnon_uk_trial_letter\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.theregister.co.uk\/2009\/01\/12\/mckinnon_uk_trial_letter\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"comment-article\">\n<div class=\"bg-f8f1d8\">\n<div class=\"float-right padding-top-5 padding-right-7\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">&lt;!--\nfGenerateHaveYourSayLink(&#39;have-your-say-link-1&#39;, &#39;comments-form&#39;, sHaveYourSay);\n\/\/--&gt;<\/script><noscript><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}