The Daily Mail team are doing an excellent job of highlighting the absurdity of attempts by the US government to extradite and jail “quote hacker unquote” (extra quotation marks needed) Gary McKinnon.
If you are not familiar with the case, back in 2001 McKinnon logged on to several US federal and military sites looking for evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial craft (UFOs) held secretly by the shadowy forces of government conspiracy.
McKinnon did no irreparable damage to any of the systems he accessed; he did not gain financially from his activities; he did he obtain or disseminate any classified information. But he did cause a few red faces amongst those system owners who were revealed to be carelessly connecting up to the Internet without taking proper and routine precautions; embarrassment that was no doubt career-limiting in the aftermath of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks.
Were McKinnon’s actions wrong? Of course they were. Do they justify his extradition to the US to face a potential 60 or even 70 year jail sentence. Of course they don’t.
According to the Daily Mail,
When Gary was charged, U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty accused him of carrying out the 'biggest military computer hack of all time'. […]
U.S. officials were particularly incensed that he carried out some of his attacks in the aftermath of the September 11 atrocities.
He is accused of illegally accessing 98 computers belonging to the U.S. army, navy, air force, NASA, Department of Defence and a number of private companies.
He allegedly stole passwords, deleted files and monitored traffic and did £500,000 of damage to computers in 14 states.
In April 2001, he hacked into the computers of a naval weapons station in New Jersey, which provides munitions and supplies for the Atlantic fleet. […]
A senior U.S. official added: 'The view here, and it remains a very firmly held view, is that this man is not a harmless UFO nut. He staged a deliberate and highly destructive attack. There is overwhelming evidence against him.
'He will be tried in open court and evidence will be produced and he will be entitled of course to bring up any extenuating circumstances.
Unfortunately the Daily Mail’s online petition is broken (they seem to have copied it from the MPs expenses version and knackered it somehow). But there is an epetition at Number10.gov.uk that you might consider signing:
Petition – Extradition Law
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Examine and revoke the unjust and one sided extradition law between the UK and USA which allows for the extradition of BRITISH CITIZENS like Gary Mckinnon and the Nat West three to the USA.
Submitted by Jason Bowman of The Resistance
A related petition submitted by the National Autistic Society is now closed, having gained over 4,000 signatures:
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to lead his Government in providing protection against extradition for people with autism and Asperger syndrome in the criminal justice system, particularly in the case of Gary McKinnon.
Submitted by Lisa James of The National Autistic Society
There are numerous facets to this story that are troubling, from the terrorisation of a harmless crank with a mild form of autism to the apparent ease with which British citizens can be extradited to foreign jurisdictions.
Please take some time to look at the links below or throughout this article, and if you’re amenable sign one of the petitions or contact your local MP.
No one is demanding that Gary McKinnon be given a free pass. But let us try his case in our own country, giving weight to his intent and mental condition. Our courts have consented to this for Britons accused of more serious information security crimes, such as Aaron Caffrey (2001) and Richard Pryce (1994).
Related Links
