Lawyer for UK national: Extradition for hacking could cause suicide
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
An attorney for a British man indicted for hacking into the U.S. military's computer networks in 2002 told the UK High Court that extradition to the U.S. could result in psychosis and suicide because of his mental illness.
Gary McKinnon, the 42-year-old man U.S. authorities say broke into the networks of the Army, Air Force, Navy, NASA and other sensitive computers, was diagnosed last August with Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism. His attorney, family and supporters say he should be tried in the UK.
The National Autistic Society, a UK advocacy group, has petitioned the British government to keep McKinnon in the UK, based on his condition.
The group says his late diagnosis meant his mental condition - which can cause obsessive behaviors - was not considered in legal proceedings prior to last August. His extradition was ordered in October by the British home secretary.
The indictment alleges that McKinnon scanned a large number of computers in the .mil network to access computers and obtain administrative privileges.
The indictment said McKinnon caused a network in the Washington D.C. area to shut down for three days and caused close to $1 million in damages. He could face up to 70 years in prison in the U.S.
Related News:
Don't worry about network security: Nine-year-old Marko's got your back - 1.22.2010
Marko Calasan is a Macedonian IT whiz and systems administrator who remotely manages a network of computers owned by a nonprofit that helps connect people with disabilities. Not much of a story, except for the consideration of Calasan's age: He's nine years old.
Apple releases patches for OS X security flaws - 1.21.2010
Vulnerabilities in OS X 10.5 and 10.6 were addressed in Apple's first security update of 2010, patching a dozen known security holes in the Mac operating system.
British university slammed by unknown virus - 1.21.2010
Network security at the UK's University of Exeter was breached by an unidentified virus on Monday, taking down the entirety of the institution's computer capacity and, local paper the Express and Echo reports, even spreading to the school's telephone network.
Pioneering CEO of Real Networks steps down - and some say 'good riddance' - 1.19.2010
Rob Glaser, the controversial head of Real Networks, stepped down from his position last week amid comment from all corners of the tech world, but critics say that not enough accounts mention Glaser's record of spreading intrusive software.
Gmail improves network security for clients - 1.14.2010
Secure HTTP access to Google's free Gmail service is now active by default, the company announced earlier this week, making Gmail messages less susceptible to unauthorized access.
|
