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.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
RSS