{"id":1260,"date":"2008-07-27T21:15:58","date_gmt":"2008-07-27T21:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/2008\/07\/27\/post-3-2\/"},"modified":"2008-07-27T21:15:58","modified_gmt":"2008-07-27T21:15:58","slug":"post-3-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/post-3-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary McKinnon Update: UK OBSERVER-Briton facing 60 years in US prison after hacking into Pentagon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"wrapper\"><span id=\"textResizeControl\" style=\"position: absolute; left: -9999px;\">&nbsp;<\/span><br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1.4em;\"><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\" id=\"hitboxScript\">\n\/\/<![CDATA[\nif(isExternalSystemOn(\"hbx\")) {\nvar _hbEC=0,_hbE=new Array;function _hbEvent(a,b){b=_hbE[_hbEC++]=new Object();b._N=a;b._C=0;return b;}\nvar hbx=_hbEvent(\"pv\");hbx.vpc=\"HBX0250u\";hbx.gn=\"hits.gureport.co.uk\";\nhbx.acct=\"DM5506080PEE;DM54102495BW\";\nhbx.pn=\"{article}{Briton+faces+60+years+in+US+prison+after+hacking+into+Pentagon}{p1013520}\";\nhbx.mlc=\"\/GU\/World+news\/International+crime\";\nhbx.pndef=\"title\";\nhbx.ctdef=\"full\";\nhbx.fv=\"\";\nhbx.lt=\"none\";\nhbx.dlf=\"n\";\nhbx.dft=\"n\";\nhbx.elf=\"n\";\nhbx.seg=\"\";\nhbx.fnl=\"\";\nhbx.cmp=\"\";\nhbx.cmpn=\"\";\nhbx.dcmp=\"\";\nhbx.dcmpn=\"\";\nhbx.dcmpe=\"\";\nhbx.dcmpre=\"\";\nhbx.hra=\"\";\nhbx.hqsr=\"\";\nhbx.hqsp=\"\";\nhbx.hlt=\"\";\nhbx.hla=\"\";\nhbx.gp=\"\";\nhbx.gpn=\"\";\nhbx.hcn=\"\";\nhbx.hcv=\"\";\nhbx.cp=\"null\";\nhbx.cpd=\"\";\nhbx.ci='(none)';\nhbx.hc1='can';\nhbx.hc2='(none)';\nhbx.hc3=\"The+Observer\";\nhbx.hc4=\"Crime+-+international+(News),Hacking+(Technology),Computer+security,Technology,Human+rights+(News),US+News,US+national+security,Crime+-+UK+(News),World+news,UK+news,Observer\";\nhbx.hrf=\"\";\nhbx.pec=\"\";\nvar cv=_hbEvent(\"cv\");\ncv.c5=\"Not+commercially+useful,Technology+Gadgets,Corporate+IT,Consumer+Electronics\";\ncv.c6=\"Jamie+Doward,+home+affairs+editor\";\ncv.c7=\"2008_07_26\";\ngenerateScriptTag('http:\/\/image.guim.co.uk\/static\/58045\/original\/common\/scripts\/hbx.js');\n}\n\/\/]]> <\/script><span style=\"font-size: 1.4em;\"><strong>Briton facing 60 years in US prison after<br \/>&nbsp; &nbsp;hacking into Pentagon<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"box\">\n<div id=\"article-header\">\n<div id=\"main-article-info\">\n<ul class=\"article-attributes no-pic\">\n<li class=\"byline\">\n&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/profile\/jamiedoward\" name=\"&amp;lid={contentTypeByline}{Jamie Doward}&amp;lpos={contentTypeByline}{1}\">Jamie Doward<\/a>, home affairs editor\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"publication\">\n&nbsp; <a href=\"http:\/\/observer.guardian.co.uk\/\" name=\"&amp;lid={contentTypeByline}{The Observer}&amp;lpos={contentTypeByline}{2}\">The Observer<\/a>,\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"date\">Sunday July 27 2008<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On<br \/>\nthe eve of a Lords ruling over US demands for his extradition, a<br \/>\nBritish computer hacker claims that American prosecutors threatened to<br \/>\nhaul him before a military tribunal.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content\">\n<div id=\"article-wrapper\">\n<p>When he wakes up this morning, Gary<br \/>\nMcKinnon will be 72 hours from learning whether he is on the fast track<br \/>\nto a 60-year prison sentence, thanks to his obsession with aliens.<\/p>\n<p>McKinnon,<br \/>\n42, from Enfield in north London, is accused by American prosecutors of<br \/>\nillegally accessing top-secret computer systems in what they claimed in<br \/>\none legal document was &#8216;the biggest military computer hack of all<br \/>\ntime&#8217;. <\/p>\n<p>The self-taught IT expert insists he was simply looking<br \/>\nfor information the US government had on UFOs and is adamant that he<br \/>\nnever damaged any of its computer systems. This argument, however, cuts<br \/>\nlittle ice with the Americans, who are trying to extradite him. Five<br \/>\nyears after being told by British police that he would probably get a<br \/>\nsix-month community service order for his exploits, McKinnon finds<br \/>\nhimself still wanted by the US authorities. A 2006 High Court ruling<br \/>\ngranted the extradition request, and on Wednesday the House of Lords<br \/>\nwill decide on McKinnon&#8217;s appeal against that ruling.<\/p>\n<p>That it<br \/>\nshould come to this is little short of outrageous, say his supporters.<br \/>\nSoon after he was arrested in 2002, US prosecutors appeared to offer<br \/>\nMcKinnon a deal: if he agreed to extradition and admitted his guilt, he<br \/>\nwould get a sentence of three to four years, most of which could be<br \/>\nserved in the UK. When McKinnon rejected the offer &#8211; made in<br \/>\nconfidential meetings at the US embassy &#8211; his lawyers were told &#8216;all<br \/>\nbets were off&#8217;. They claim the US prosecutors upped the stakes,<br \/>\nsuggesting he would be &#8216;treated like a terrorist&#8217; if he did not agree<br \/>\nto face trial and plead guilty in the US.<\/p>\n<p>McKinnon claims that at<br \/>\none stage there were suggestions that he would face a military<br \/>\ntribunal, possibly at Guant\u00e1namo Bay. &#8216;They said they wanted to see me<br \/>\nfry,&#8217; he said. <\/p>\n<p>McKinnon&#8217;s lawyers claim that attempts to force<br \/>\nhim to accept a plea bargain constituted &#8216;an unlawful abuse of the<br \/>\ncourt process&#8217;. <\/p>\n<p>A Lords ruling in favour of McKinnon, who has<br \/>\nbecome a cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre for UFO enthusiasts, computer users and civil<br \/>\nliberties groups, would force US prosecutors to restart their<br \/>\nextradition process in the magistrates&#8217; courts, a major setback that<br \/>\ncould have ramifications for other Britons resisting removal to the US.<br \/>\nA ruling against him would mean an appeal to the European Court of<br \/>\nHuman Rights and leave him in legal limbo, banned from travelling<br \/>\nabroad, forced to report to police every Friday, and barred from<br \/>\naccessing the internet.<\/p>\n<p>In a further twist, it has emerged that a<br \/>\ncrucial file containing details of the early meetings with the US<br \/>\nprosecutors, at which the offers were apparently made, has gone missing<br \/>\nfrom the office of McKinnon&#8217;s solicitor. A laptop holding details of<br \/>\nthe same meetings was stolen from the car of one of his barristers. <\/p>\n<p>The<br \/>\nrevelations have prompted febrile speculation among McKinnon&#8217;s<br \/>\nsupporters, who fear that events have taken a sinister turn. McKinnon<br \/>\nbelieves his phone has been bugged and claims to have been followed. As<br \/>\na result of his exploits, no IT company will now offer McKinnon a job.<br \/>\n&#8216;I think it&#8217;s bloody ridiculous,&#8217; he said. &#8216;They should employ me to<br \/>\nbust paedophile rings or credit card frauds rather than stick me in<br \/>\njail for the rest of my life.&#8217; <\/p>\n<p>These days he earns a living<br \/>\ndriving a fork-lift truck. It seems a mundane job for a man who between<br \/>\n1999 and 2002 broke into the most secure computer systems in the world<br \/>\nfrom his north London flat. Using a computer language called Perl and a<br \/>\ncheap PC, McKinnon linked a number of computer systems to search for US<br \/>\ndatabases that were not protected by a password. &#8216;I could scan 65,000<br \/>\nmachines in less than nine minutes,&#8217; McKinnon said.<\/p>\n<p>McKinnon<br \/>\nunearthed unprotected computer systems operated by the US army, the<br \/>\nnavy, the Pentagon and Nasa. On every system he hacked, he left<br \/>\nmessages. &#8216;It was frightening because they had little or no security,&#8217;<br \/>\nhe said. &#8216;I was always leaving messages on the desktop saying, &quot;your<br \/>\nsecurity is really crap&quot;.&#8217; <\/p>\n<p>One message has come back to haunt<br \/>\nhim. &#8216;I said US foreign policy was akin to government-sponsored<br \/>\nterrorism and I believed 9\/11 was an inside job. It was a political<br \/>\ndiatribe,&#8217; he admitted. <\/p>\n<p>In the end, the ease with which he<br \/>\ncould hack the systems became his undoing. &#8216;I got sloppy. I went to<br \/>\nplaces directly rather than jump through systems. Nasa tracked back my<br \/>\nIP address.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>McKinnon&#8217;s interest in aliens was started by an<br \/>\ninternet-based group of UFO enthusiasts called The Disclosure Project.<br \/>\nThe group had collected more than 200 testimonies &#8211; some from people<br \/>\nwho have served in the US military &#8211; that &#8216;confirm&#8217; that<br \/>\nextra-terrestrials exist. Not only that but, according to McKinnon,<br \/>\nsome of the testimonies offered proof that &#8216;certain parts of Western<br \/>\nintelligence had acquired and reverse-engineered their technology,<br \/>\nmainly weaponry and free energy&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Intrigued, McKinnon used the<br \/>\ntestimonies to help him search top-secret US databases for information<br \/>\nabout free energy. &#8216;I felt if it existed it should be publicly<br \/>\navailable,&#8217; he said. He says he came across many other hackers in the<br \/>\nsupposedly secure systems, many with Chinese and Russian internet<br \/>\naddresses. Since his exploits were exposed, consecutive government<br \/>\nreports have confirmed that the US military&#8217;s computer systems remain<br \/>\npoorly protected. <\/p>\n<p>McKinnon was caught before he could find any<br \/>\nconfidential information on &#8216;free energy&#8217;, but he saw enough to believe<br \/>\nthe US authorities are suppressing what they know about aliens. He says<br \/>\nhe came across a document written by a Nasa official who claimed the<br \/>\nagency has to airbrush UFOs out of satellite photos because &#8216;there are<br \/>\nso many of them&#8217;. <\/p>\n<p>With only a 56k modem, he found that<br \/>\ndownloading the huge volume of documents was too time-consuming. But<br \/>\nMcKinnon claims that he managed to capture almost two-thirds of an<br \/>\nimage of what he believes was either a UFO or a top-secret US craft<br \/>\noperating in space. <\/p>\n<p>The picture was confiscated, along with all<br \/>\nthe other material McKinnon downloaded. The material included an Excel<br \/>\nspreadsheet entitled &#8216;non-terrestrial officers&#8217; and a list of names.<br \/>\n&#8216;It was a really weird phrase,&#8217; McKinnon said. &#8216;Maybe it was the secret<br \/>\ndevelopment of a space force. Space is the next frontier and it&#8217;s<br \/>\nalready being weaponised.&#8217; <\/p>\n<p>His hacking career came to an abrupt<br \/>\nend one morning in March 2002. The National High Tech Crime Unit<br \/>\nsearched his flat and arrested McKinnon and his then girlfriend. &#8216;They<br \/>\nsaid &quot;you&#8217;ll probably get six months&#8217; community service&quot;,&#8217; McKinnon<br \/>\nclaimed.<\/p>\n<p>In the end the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to<br \/>\nprosecute, but two years later, after crime unit officials visited<br \/>\nWashington, apparently taking McKinnon&#8217;s hard drive, the US government<br \/>\nbegan extradition proceedings. &#8216;Now I&#8217;m facing 60 years in prison,&#8217;<br \/>\nMcKinnon said. &#8216;I believe my case is being treated so seriously because<br \/>\nthey&#8217;re scared of what I&#8217;ve seen. I&#8217;m living in a surreal, nutter&#8217;s<br \/>\nfilm.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h2>The greatest hackers<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Jonathan James<\/strong><br \/>\nAt 16 he was the first juvenile to be jailed (for six months) for<br \/>\nhacking in 2000. He targeted high-profile organisations including Nasa,<br \/>\nstealing more than $1.7m worth of software. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Adrian Lamo<\/strong><br \/>\nBroke into organisations such as the New York Times and Microsoft<br \/>\nbetween 2002-2003 using internet connections at coffee shops and<br \/>\nlibraries. He had to pay $65,000, serve six months of home confinement<br \/>\nand two years&#8217; probation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin Mitnick <\/strong> The<br \/>\nDepartment of Justice called him &#8216;the most wanted computer criminal in<br \/>\nUnited States history&#8217; for his hacking activities between 1982 and<br \/>\n1992. He served five years, eight months in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kevin Poulsen<\/strong><br \/>\nKnown as Dark Dante, he hacked into LA radio&#8217;s KIIS-FM phone lines,<br \/>\nearning himself a Porsche. Called &#8216;Hannibal Lecter of computer crime&#8217;<br \/>\nfor his hacking activities between 1985 and 1991, he served five years<br \/>\nin prison.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itsecurity.com\/\">itsecurity.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; <\/p>\n<div class=\"send\" id=\"history-byline\">\n<div class=\"send-inner\">\n<div class=\"share-top\"><a class=\"sendbyline\">&nbsp;<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; \t&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; \t\t\t&nbsp; \t\t&nbsp; &nbsp;\t\t&nbsp; &nbsp;\t&nbsp; &nbsp;\t&nbsp; &nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp; \t\t&nbsp; &nbsp; \t\t\t\t&nbsp; &nbsp; <\/p>\n<div class=\"section\">\n&nbsp; &nbsp;\tThis article appeared in <a name=\"&amp;lid={historyByline}{the Observer}&amp;lpos={historyByline}{3}\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/theobserver\">the Observer<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;\ton <a name=\"&amp;lid={historyByline}{The ObserverSunday July 27 2008}&amp;lpos={historyByline}{2}\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/theobserver\/2008\/jul\/27\">Sunday July 27 2008<\/a>&nbsp; on p13 of the <a name=\"&amp;lid={historyByline}{News}&amp;lpos={historyByline}{1}\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/theobserver\/2008\/jul\/27\/news\/uknews\">News<\/a> section. It was last updated at 23:59 on July 26 2008.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2008\/jul\/27\/internationalcrime.hacking\/print\">http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2008\/jul\/27\/internationalcrime.hacking\/print<\/a><\/p>\n<p>VIEW\/COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/exopolitics.blogs.com\/exopolitics\/2008\/07\/post-3.html\">http:\/\/exopolitics.blogs.com\/exopolitics\/2008\/07\/post-3.html<\/a><br \/><a title=\"Link to a printer-friendly version\" name=\"&amp;lid={article}{Print}&amp;lpos={article}{1}\" class=\"printable rollover\" id=\"printlink\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2008\/jul\/27\/internationalcrime.hacking\/print\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><\/noscript> <\/p>\n<div id=\"cookie\">\n&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp; <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/\/<![CDATA[\nif(isExternalSystemOn(\"displayads\")) {\nvar src = 'http:\/\/ads.guardian.co.uk\/js.ng\/spacedesc=cookie&amp;comfolder=unclassifedcontributors&amp;keywords=%2CCrime%2B-%2Binternational%2B%28News%29%2CHacking%2B%28Technology%29%2CComputer%2Bsecurity%2CTechnology%2CHuman%2Brights%2B%28News%29%2CUS%2BNews%2C&amp;site=News&amp;country=can&amp;region=bc&amp;city=vancouver&amp;bandwidth=cable&amp;url=%252Fworld%252F2008%252Fjul%252F27%252Finternationalcrime.hacking&amp;rand=-627406726&amp;series=&amp;system=article&amp;blockVideoAds=false&amp;';\ngenerateScriptTag(src);\n}\n\/\/]]>\n<\/script><script src=\"http:\/\/ads.guardian.co.uk\/js.ng\/spacedesc=cookie&amp;comfolder=unclassifedcontributors&amp;keywords=%2CCrime%2B-%2Binternational%2B%28News%29%2CHacking%2B%28Technology%29%2CComputer%2Bsecurity%2CTechnology%2CHuman%2Brights%2B%28News%29%2CUS%2BNews%2C&amp;site=News&amp;country=can&amp;region=bc&amp;city=vancouver&amp;bandwidth=cable&amp;url=%252Fworld%252F2008%252Fjul%252F27%252Finternationalcrime.hacking&amp;rand=-627406726&amp;series=&amp;system=article&amp;blockVideoAds=false&amp;\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/external\/logging.js\"><\/script><script src=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/external\/logging-code.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"JavaScript\"><\/script><br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp; <\/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-1260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260","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=1260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omniversity.us\/exopolitics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}