A Briton wanted in the US for what US authorities call the biggest successful hacking effort against American military computer networks was freed on bail Wednesday after a court appearance.
The court heard allegations that Gary McKinnon, 39, illegally accessed 97 US government computers between February 2001 and March 2002, causing US$700,000 in damages. US officials said two years ago that no classified material was obtained.
Lawyers for McKinnon, who was first arrested in the case nearly three years ago and then released, said he would fight extradition. It was not immediately clear why US officials took so long to seek extradition, but it is exceedingly rare to ask foreign governments to hand over defendants in computer-crime cases.
PHOTO: AP
In previous major cyber crimes, such as the release of the "Love Bug" virus in May 2000 by a Filipino computer student and attacks in February 2000 by a Canadian youth against major American e-commerce Web sites, US authorities have waived interest in extraditing hacker suspects.
McKinnon's lawyer, Karen Todner, confirmed a published report that McKinnon was motivated by a desire to expose the ease with which a civilian could breach government computer systems and by a strong conviction that the US government was concealing evidence of UFOs.
Janet Boston, acting for the US government, told Bow Street Magistrates' Court that McKinnon installed unauthorized software on computers used by NASA, the Defense Department, the Army, Navy and Air Force that permitted him to "completely control the computers."
"In one instance, the US Army's military district of Washington network became inoperable," she said.
US prosecutors said McKinnon hacked into military computers nationwide running Microsoft Windows software that were left vulnerable to a design flaw for which Microsoft had issued repairs three years earlier.
After each break-in, McKinnon discovered computer accounts with passwords the same as each employee's username then installed popular remote-control software called "RemotelyAnywhere."
But McKinnon blundered badly by supplying his girlfriend's e-mail address when he downloaded his copy of RemotelyAnywhere from the software's manufacturer, leading authorities to him once they uncovered the break-ins.
McKinnon, who waved and blew a kiss toward his parents as he entered court, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
Police arrested the former computer engineer, known online as "Solo," at his home in Wood Green, north London, Tuesday evening under an extradition warrant, the Metropolitan Police said.
When the case was first revealed in late 2002, US officials said McKinnon faced up to 10 years in prison plus fines of US$250,000 on each of eight counts.
District Judge Christopher Pratt set several conditions for the US$9,200 bail, including that McKinnon be barred from applying for any travel documents and from using any computer equipment that gives access to the Internet.
In arguing for low bail, defense lawyer Mohammed Khamisa emphasized McKinnon's lack of prior criminal convictions.
He also told the court that since McKinnon's initial arrest, he had made no attempt to leave the country or evade the attention of authorities since being released.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS