Gary McKinnon, the hacker accused of infiltrating NASA's computers, won't face charges here in the UK, bringing to an end his 10-year legal battle, the BBC reports.
McKinnon was going to be extradited to the US to face charges, thousands of pounds in fines and possibly a 60-year jail sentence. That was until the Home Secretary Theresa May stepped in a couple of months ago. McKinnon suffers from Asperger's syndrome, and medical experts feared he would commit suicide if extradited.
Many will see this as a victory for common sense. McKinnon admits hacking into NASA's computers, but says he was looking for evidence of UFOs. US authorities described his actions as the "biggest military computer hack of all time" that was "calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion." Perhaps a bit over the top, maybe?
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC said in a statement yesterday, "The potential difficulties in bringing a case in England and Wales now should not be underestimated, not least the passage of time, the logistics of transferring sensitive evidence prepared for a court in the US to London for trial, the participation of US government witnesses in the trial and the need fully to comply with the duties of disclosure imposed on the CPS."
McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, was overjoyed by the news. "Gary admitted to the intrusion, he always denied the damage. I feel the 10 years have been gruelling, it's been life-destroying. It's difficult to explain how bad it's been," she said.
"To have this over is amazing. Gary's gone through enough. Other people have been accused of more serious hacking in this country and they've been given a £1,000 fine and a very short community sentence.
"Gary regrets what he's done. He wishes he hadn't done it. He wishes he hadn't upset the Americans. We all regret it. But I'm grateful to Theresa May that this is all over now."
However, the extradition warrant is still outstanding, preventing McKinnon travelling outside the UK. His lawyer said they have discussed approaching US president Barack Obama and asking for a pardon.
Image credit: ZDNet
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CaptainPicard 15 December, 2012 10:32
Great news!! It's sad to hear what he has been going through for 10 years and the government should get rid of this unfair extradition treaty with the US- if it was an American that hacked into British security systems, he would have been given a job by the yanks.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 10:40
I just hope he hasn't got a dog or he may end up committing suicide like a certain Dr David Kelly.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 11:24
I think the only reason they wanted him was to reveal how he did it... so why not just ask him
anonymous 15 December, 2012 16:18
This character has played the "I'm mental" card and won. I think he should have had his case tested in the UK. Hunting for UFOs? Or taking the opportunity to leave snide comments, thus demonstrating his intent to make mischief? It's the latter. he's no innocent.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 16:42
I am a briton of Pakistani descent and will now wonder whether people will agree with me that the UK is a racist country? This can be determined by comparing how Babar Ahmad has been treated with McKinnon and O'Dwyer by law enforcement. Babar Ahmad has never been charged with a crime whilst languishing in prison for 8 years before being treacherously extradited to America. There is no comparison between the treatments of how 'brown' Muslim Babar Ahmad has been treated and that of McKinnon/O'Dwyer. 'White' Britons should be ashamed of themselves for denying their racism.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 17:03
What miffed the Americans is that their military IT security is so poor to non-existent that a man using a home computer could get access: it is simply loss of face, which is why they've made such an issue over this business. Or maybe they want to know how Mr McKinnon did it? Any sane administration faced with the fact that a third party had managed to access a supposedly secure IT systems would have kept its silly mouth shut to minimise the chance that others might try to go where Mr McKinnon went.
Angelos Bogatinis 15 December, 2012 17:25
Why not just invite him to work for them ?
anonymous 15 December, 2012 18:01
.
The guy
like so many Aspergics
is clearly a genius.
Why didn't the Yanks
set him on.
The nazis got it right
they set Hans Asperger
to work with them
for the greater glory
of the turd Reich.
.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 18:04
.
The guy
like so many Aspergics
is clearly a genius.
Why didn't the Yanks
set him on.
The nazis got it right
they set Hans Asperger
to work with them
for the greater glory
of the turd Reich.
.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 18:22
Worth his weight in gold, obviously very talented and of course the yanks wanted get hold of him!!!!
anonymous 15 December, 2012 21:26
He's not some genius, and its a stretch to call him a hacker. He wrote a script that checked for a username of 'user' and a password of 'password', consequently there was no realistic chance of getting a UK jury to convict him. Imagine if you left your car door open and returned to it to find a mentally disabled man inside, looking for aliens. The jury isn't going to convict him of breaking in to your car. Its going to say, lock your damn car you idiot. When the car is owned by the Pentagon, who instead of saying 'ooops, that one was due to our negligence, won't let that happen again', spend 10 years trying to get the mentally disabled man locked up for the rest of his life, well, I can't see how you could convince a British jury to convict him. You'd be laughed out of court.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 22:06
^^ fantastic and true comments. Couldn't of said it better myself.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 22:07
^^ fantastic and true comments. Couldn't of said it better myself.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 22:07
^^ fantastic and true comments. Couldn't of said it better myself.
anonymous 16 December, 2012 06:58
I find it hilarious that people are defending him. He gained unauthorised access to a site with potentially sensitive information. According to the law that is illegal. He should be tried for that. Shame on Theresa May and the government for setting double standards as well (Babar Ahmad case).
anonymous 16 December, 2012 09:10
If similar terrorist evidence had been found on McKinnon as there was on Babar Ahmad, then I have no doubt he would have been imprisoned..but there was none. Are the people protecting the country racist?..I agree maybe a little but I would not like to be in their position when a terror threat succeeds...so yes a little highly strung. Gary McKinnon was not a 'flight' risk.. Babar Ahmad was...then he could have potentially continued any terrorism plots...Tough decisions are made to keep us safe..I would not like the job!
Gary 16 December, 2012 10:55
The Americans are the worst hypocrites on the planet. They hack into anything and everything they can. They even created a virus which disrupts the systems of nuclear power stations such as the one in Iran with the potential of creating a meltdown. The spam content coming out of America is larger than any other country in the world, and yet they hound this guy for 10 years for managing to access their secrets which they try to do daily to every other country, including their own allies.
CaptainPicard 16 December, 2012 17:40
I support Babar Ahmed. Though the vast majority of Brits are not racist, they just dont know what is going on. Its the mainstream media and the way they covered the case of Mr. Mckinnon and Mr. Ahmed. I believe Babar Ahmed is innocent, he hasn't done anything but many people dont know who Babar Ahmed is because of the coverage he has received.
Peter Hudson 20 December, 2012 09:38
Yeah, I find it odd that people defend him. If he had 'hacked' into one of our banks out of 'curiosity' and account numbers had ended up being leaked we'd all be outraged.
And it's important to remember that they decided not to prosecute not because he was innocent, but because they didn't think they could convince a jury to convict.
CaptainPicard 20 December, 2012 18:39
Peter if someone hacked into my bank account I would hunt then down somehow! But if an American had done this British security systems, there is no way we could extradite him here, because of all the politics. And we have an extradition treaty with the US which is completely unfair.
And remember everyone, most banks refund you if your the victim of fraud, plus, you can get free security software from them, for PC and mobile phone.
anonymous 1 January, 2013 02:06
....or - they don't want their dirty laundry aired in court - secrets