Gary McKinnon ( born Gary McKinnon ; born February 10, 1966) is a Scottish hacker who has been extradited to the United States on charges of "the largest hacking of military computers in history" [1] , as one of the US prosecutors said. Despite these allegations, McKinnon replied that he was looking for evidence of hiding UFO information, withholding information about alternative energy sources and other technologies that could potentially benefit society.
| Gary mckinnon | |
|---|---|
| Gary mckinnon | |
 Gary McKinnon, July 12, 2006 | |
| Date of Birth | February 10, 1966 (53 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Glasgow , Scotland |
| Citizenship | Brit |
| Occupation | Hacker , former system administrator |
According to an official hearing in the UK in July 2006, a decision was made to extradite him to the United States. In February 2007, McKinnon's attorneys petitioned the High Court in London [2] , which was rejected on April 3 [3] [4] . On July 30, the appeal committee of the House of Lords agreed to hear attorneys [5] , and on June 17, 2008, the lords-judges began hearing the case [6] [7] . The court, held on July 30, 2008, ruled that by decision of the Lord Lords, Gary McKinnon could be extradited to the United States [8] . He was given two weeks to challenge this decision before the European Court of Human Rights; the court also postponed the execution of the extradition verdict for another two weeks, giving time to appeal the verdict on August 28 [9] , which was subsequently quashed [10] [11] .
Then the defense side made another decision: to challenge the sentence on the basis of the presence of Asperger syndrome [12] [13] , which was diagnosed in August 2008 by psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen at the University of Cambridge [14] . On July 31, 2009, McKinnon was denied the opportunity to review the case, as well as to further consider it in the British courts. [15] On October 27, 2009, Alan Johnson, the UK Home Secretary, stated that the case would not be continued until the medical evidence was fully examined, thereby giving McKinnon's team time to appeal to the European Court [16] .
Extradition permission appeared on November 27, 2009. A letter to McKinnon’s lawyer dated November 26 stated that extradition did not violate his client’s rights, and that McKinnon should be extradited immediately to the United States [17] . Based on this letter, Karen Todner (McKinnon's lawyer) said she would seek a review of the decision by the UK Home Office. If this attempt is unsuccessful, then the next step will be to consider the case at the European Court of Human Rights, since before that the fact of McKinnon’s illness was unknown to the court [18] .
Content
Background
McKinnon was born in Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. He graduated from Highgate Wood High School in the north of London. He worked as a system administrator. He is accused of hacking US military computers in 1997, and NASA computers in 2000 and 2001. The hacker used the name "Solo". The networks he is accused of breaking into belonged to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense, the Army, the Navy, and the US Air Force.
Sources in the US claim that he deleted critical files in the operating system, which made it impossible to use more than 2,000 computers in the military district of Washington during the day, as well as in deleting the US Navy's weapons logs. It is stated that the cost of identifying and eliminating the consequences of this attack cost the United States $ 800,000 [19] . McKinnon denies the fact of damage, referring to the fact that while searching for materials related to UFOs, he gained access to one computer without passwords and firewalls, where he left many entries indicating vulnerabilities in the system. He firmly believes that the damage and financial loss claimed by the United States is a fictitious financial basis for his extradition. McKinnon admits that he could pose a threat to one computer, but denies the rest of the US allegations until official evidence is presented.
McKinnon was tracked down and arrested under the Computer Abuse Act of the British High-Tech Crime Unit. In the UK, such crimes are not subject to extradition, and provide for maximum liability in the form of imprisonment for a period of 6 months. Later, during the same year, he was indicted by the US Government. McKinnon remained at large without any restrictions until June 2005, since from that moment he was under police control and was required to report to the local police station every night. He was forbidden to go out at night and have a computer with an Internet connection. These were all measures that could be taken in the UK under the law, until the US demanded the extradition of McKinnon.
If McKinnon is extradited to the United States and convicted, he faces up to 70 years in prison [20] , and there is well-founded fear that this will be Guantanamo Bay prison [21] [22] . He continues to dispute the possibility of his extradition and confidently states that he must be held accountable under the laws of the United Kingdom for all his dubious acts and crimes, while US charges are unfounded and unfounded.
In turn, US authorities say that McKinnon is significantly downplaying the significance of his own actions. One of the senior Pentagon officers said:
“US policy involves repulsing such attacks in the most severe way possible. As a result of McKinnon’s actions, we received quite serious damage. It was a malicious incident. He inflicted severe and deliberate damage on NASA's military computers and computers, and left ridiculous and anti-American messages. All evidence indicates that someone staged a serious attack on US computer systems. ”
McKinnon Support
In early November 2008, most members of Parliament signed a document according to which all judicial decisions relating to imprisonment imposed by US courts should be carried out in UK prisons [23] . However, on July 15, most of them voted in Parliament against revising the extradition treaty [24] .
In mid-November, the rock band Marillion announced that it was ready to take part in a charity concert in support of McKinnon's fight against extradition to the United States. The organizer of the planned event, the date of which has not yet been announced, is Ross Hemsworth [25] , however, many have already expressed their support, including Sting, Boris Johnson (mayor of London) and many other people and communities. All of them believe that if McKinnon is judged, then this should be done by a British court [26] .
In August 2009, the Scottish newspaper The Herald wrote that Scottish entrepreneur Luke Heron was ready to transfer £ 100,000 to McKinnon to cover legal costs if he were extradited to the United States [27] .
In one of the following articles of the same publication, support for McKinon was announced by Joseph Richard Gutheins, a retired NASA employee. He is also a former member of the Texas Criminal Justice Oversight Committee with medical and mental disabilities. He stated that McKinnon would not find justice in the United States. He is confident that McKinnon's disease will not be a mitigating factor in the US justice system [28] [29] .
The British tabloid The Daily Mail launched a campaign against McKinnon’s extradition to US authorities. [30] [31]
In August 2009, Pink Floyd band member David Gilmore released the Chicago-based online single, Change the World, to draw attention to McKinnon's fate. Graham Nash’s replayed song “Chicago” was performed by Chrissy Handy and Bob Geldof, as well as McKinnon himself. It was released by Pink Floyd co-author Chris Thomas with the support of Graham Nash. [32] This video was also posted on the Web [33] .
Advanced
- 2003 Extradition Act
- Judgments - Mckinnon V Government of The United States of America and Another, United Kingdom Parliament, July 30, 2008, retrieved 2009-08-01 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldjudgmt/jd080730/mckinn-1. htm
Sources
- ↑ Boyd, Clark . Profile: Gary McKinnon , BBC News (July 30, 2008). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ British hacker fights extradition , BBC News (February 14, 2007). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ Gary McKinnon vs Government of the USA and Secretary of State for the Home Dept , [2007] EWHC 762 ( Admin ) (04/04/2007, case No: CO / 5897/2006)
- ↑ UK hacker loses extradition fight , BBC News (April 3, 2007). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ Campbell, Duncan Lords to hear 'hacker' appeal . The Guardian (July 31, 2007). Date of treatment November 15, 2008. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ Law Lords consider UK hacker case , BBC News (17 June 2008). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ Hacker Indicted Under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act For Accessing Military Computers (Link unavailable) . US Department of Justice (November 12, 2002). Date of treatment November 15, 2008. Archived on October 7, 2008.
- ↑ Hacker loses extradition appeal , BBC News (July 30, 2008). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ by: Yahoo! Tech (inaccessible link - history ) . News.yahoo.com (January 5, 2009). Date of treatment January 16, 2009.
- ↑ European Court of Human Rights refuses request for interim measures by Gary McKinnon . European Court of Human Rights (August 28, 2008). Date of treatment September 1, 2008. Archived on April 22, 2012.
- ↑ Hacker loses extradition appeal , BBC News (August 28, 2008). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ Campbell, Duncan British computer hacker faces extradition to US after court appeal fails . The Guardian (August 29, 2008). Date of treatment October 16, 2008. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ Hacker appeals to home secretary , BBC News (September 1, 2008). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ Hacker wins court review decision , BBC News (23 January 2009). Date of treatment January 23, 2009.
- ↑ Logged in as click here to log out. Gary McKinnon should be extradited, court rules | World news . The Guardian. Date of treatment January 30, 2010. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ BBC News - Hacker's extradition put on hold
- ↑ Hirsch, Afua; Gabbatt, Adam . Gary McKinnon's mother brands extradition of her son 'disgusting' , guardian.co.uk (November 27, 2998). Date of treatment November 27, 2998.
- ↑ Pentagon hacker 'hopeful' despite legal setback , CNN (November 27, 2009). Date of treatment November 29, 2009.
- ↑ Law Lords Department. House of Lords - Mckinnon V Government of The United States of America and Another . Publications.parliament.uk. Date of treatment January 30, 2010. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ UK | Hacker wins court review decision , BBC News (January 23, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2010.
- ↑ 'Hacker' extradition case reopens , BBC News, February 14, 2006
- ↑ British 'hacker' fears Guantanamo , BBC News, April 12, 2006
- ↑ MPs want UK jail time for hacker , BBC News (November 4, 2008). Date of treatment November 15, 2008.
- ↑ BETRAYED: Spineless Labor MPs who backed Asperger's victim's bid to beat extradition desert him , Daily Mail .
- ↑ Ballard, Mark . Marillion to play gig for McKinnon , The inquirer (November 14, 2008). Date of treatment November 17, 2008.
- ↑ McClatchey, Caroline . Magazine | How Gary McKinnon became a cause celebre , BBC News (August 4, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2010.
- ↑ Helen McArdle. Hacker backer pays £ 100k to prevent McKinnon US trial . Herald Scotland (August 2, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2010. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ I fear Gary Mckinnon will not find justice in America , Joseph Gutheinz. The Herald, UK, February 6, 2009
- ↑ Gary was just a guy looking for ET. This witch hunt must end (and that's the man from NASA's view) , Julie Moult. The Daily Mail, London, July 7, 2009
- ↑ <span lang = " (Russian) " xml: lang = " (Russian) "> Sign the Mail on Sunday petition | Mail Online (unopened) . Dailymail.co.uk (July 6, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2010. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ The Register, US mil still wide open to attack, says reformed hacker
- ↑ Chicago . Date of treatment August 4, 2009. Archived April 22, 2012.
- ↑ McKinnon Campaign . Date of treatment August 4, 2009. Archived April 22, 2012.
Links
- Gary McKinnon support website
- Support website by Gary McKinnon's mother
- Hacker Voice Radio interview with Mckinnon
- Facing 60 years in US prison after hacking into Pentagon
- British hacker loses extradition appeal
- Profile BBC News - lost his appeal in the UK's House of Lords 30 Jul 2008
- Paranormal Daily News - Gary McKinnon should be praised and not punished
- Dan Bull - Free Gary (an open letter to the Home Secretary)
- Coverage of the Gary McKinnon case since 2006
Note
This article is a partial translation of an article from the English version of Wikipedia .