Viruslist.com – “Biggest military hacker” speaks out against US authorities
Gary McKinnon, the hacker accused of accessing secret NASA and US military networks between 2001 and 2002 in what has been dubbed “the biggest military hack of all times” has broken silence. In an interview to an online radio station he spoke about his situation before an appeal against his extradition order is due to be heard in the coming weeks. UK Home Secretary John Reid signed McKinnon’s extradition order back in July, but an appeal was made to the High Court to reverse that decision. The hacker himself does not deny accessing secret networks, but wants to stand trial in Britain. McKinnon also claims he is not the super-hacker he has been made out to be in the media. He backs that up by saying he used commercially available scanning software and only searched for entry points with blank passwords, meaning those networks were not as secure as they should have been anyway. The UKs National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, whose officers told McKinnon he would face community service, originally detained him after an investigation. However, the US authorities claimed his actions caused serious economic damages to several organisations. This, McKinnon says, is proof of the fact that the accusations levelled at him in order to secure his extradition have been fabricated to make it out into a show trial. The Briton, who has always maintained he was merely searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life, could now face a 70-year prison sentence and fears he will be sent to Guantanamo Bay without charge, where he may face a trial under Military order No. 1. This whole situation has been very difficult for Mr McKinnon, who says it has been very damaging to him in psychological terms.