US says world biggest crackers was arrested
A London man described as the "world's biggest computer hacker" has been arrested.
Gary McKinnon, 39, was seized by the Met's extradition unit at his Wood Green home.
The unemployed former computer engineer is accused of causing the US government $1billion of damage by breaking into its most secure computers at the Pentagon and Nasa. He is likely to be extradited to America to face eight counts of computer crime in 14 states and could be jailed for 70 years.
The former Highgate Wood comprehensive-pupil was granted bail today at Bow Street Magistrates' Court.
Most of the alleged hacking took place in 2001 and 2002. At one stage the US thought it was the work of the al Qaeda terror network.
Friends said that he broke into the networks from his home computer to try to prove his theory that the US was covering up the existence of UFOs.
He is accused of a series of hacking offences including deleting "critical" files from military computers. The US authorities said the cost of tracking him down and correcting the alleged problems was more than £570,000. The offences could also see him fined up to £950,000 if found guilty on all charges.
He was arrested yesterday evening but the US first issued an indictment against him in November 2002.
Prosecutor Paul McNulty alleged that McKinnon, known online as "Solo," had perpetrated "the biggest hack of military computers ever". He was named as the chief suspect after a series of electronic break-ins occurred over 12 months at 92 separate US military and Nasa networks.
McKinnon was also accused of hacking into the networks of six private companies and organisations.
It is alleged that he used software available on the internet to scan tens of thousands of computers on US military networks from his home PC, looking for machines that might be exposed due to flaws in the Windows operating system.
Many of the computers he broke into were protected by easy-to-guess passwords, investigators said. In some cases, McKinnon allegedly shut down the computer systems he invaded.
The charge sheet alleges that he hacked into an army computer at Fort Myer, Virginia, where he obtained codes, information and commands before deleting about 1,300 user accounts.
Other systems he hacked into included the Pentagon's network and US army, navy and air force computers.
Reports when he was first indicted said that McKinnon found his career as a computer engineer tedious.
One message updating old schoolfriends on a website read simply: "Computers (Yawn)".
Friends said he was desperate to prove that the Americans had mounted a huge cover-up to deny his belief that aliens had visited earth.
Andrew Edwards, who has known McKinnon since their days together at Highgate Wood comprehensive, said in 2002: "Gary told me all he was doing was looking for proof of a cover-up over UFOs.
"He's been interested in UFOs for some time and believes the Americans are holding back information - although he didn't find any proof."
Outside court, his solicitor Karen Todner said he was disappointed it had taken the authorities this long to bring him to court.
She said: "This decision for extradition is driven by the American government. Mr McKinnon intends to contest this case most vigorously.
"Of particular concern to him is the treatment of other British nationals under the American judicial system which inspires little confidence.
"We believe that as a British national, he should be tried here in our courts by a British jury and not in the US."
japanesedude wrote: [quote]K_I_N_G wrote: Damn straight, toughest country on this fuckin planet. And the only country that doesnt talk like a bunch of pussy's.
Lol.[/quote]
I knew somebody would react this way, and I co-agree :D Anyway I still hope he will return with post kinda like "guys don't you know sarcasm/irony" :D:D
But still lets stay on the topic, and don't start another pointless and stupid discussion whether is America pointless and stupid or uber cool and tough…
K_I_N_G wrote: Damn straight, toughest country on this fuckin planet. And the only country that doesnt talk like a bunch of pussy's. Oh sweet Jesus… not again.
Anyways, I have to sort of disagree with the general opinion. Sure, 70 years does seem a little rough, and the price of tracking him down surly did not exceed $1,000,000,000. That's ridiculous.
However, he did break through the government's security. Which is, I'm sure, very illegal. Yes, it was due to their stupidity, etc etc etc. But the fact that he acted on that stupidity is still grounds for imprisonment. Hell, it's like walking into someone's house because the front door was unlocked and rifling through their shit.
rofl! I love how intellegence agencies blow the price out of proportion. They're like all classic IT people who say you cause thousands of dollars in damage even though it didn't cost a damn thing to set up the network in the first place. In truth, that is how people make their money these days… :happy:
TheSilentDrifter wrote: rofl! I love how intellegence agencies blow the price out of proportion. They're like all classic IT people who say you cause thousands of dollars in damage even though it didn't cost a damn thing to set up the network in the first place. In truth, that is how people make their money these days… :happy:
Time spent setting up a network costs money, unless you're an idiot that doesn't charge when you're not doing it for yourself. Time spent repairing a network also costs money. When you do IT for a living, you'll understand.
apescanfly223 wrote: What kind of an idiot breaks into government computers from a computer in their bedroom?! Oh wait never mind, I forgot, were talking about a man from the UK who believes the US is covering up the existence of "UFO's" :right: Giggle
The chance that intelligent life exists outside Earth is as big a chance as we exist.
There is a spoon, and somewhere out there, they have spoons too.
spyware wrote:
The chance that intelligent life exists outside Earth is as big a chance as we exist.
There is a spoon, and somewhere out there, they have spoons too.
I couldn't agree more. The universe is big, really big, bigger then the mind can imagine. For anyone to think that we are the only life form out there is just crazy. I'm not saying that there are people like us out there but there's gotta be some kind of life out there.
moshbat wrote: giggle Don't you just love America? yea, the country that cant take one bit of criticism from it's citizens.
I was on the White House website one day, i don't remember why, but I found a feedback submission form. But under it, it said "All negative comments will be considered treason and violators will be prosecuted as such.
Futility wrote: However, he did break through the government's security. Which is, I'm sure, very illegal. Yes, it was due to their stupidity, etc etc etc. But the fact that he acted on that stupidity is still grounds for imprisonment. Hell, it's like walking into someone's house because the front door was unlocked and rifling through their shit.
Show me the law that says I'm not allowed to walk into an unlocked house and do as I please. It's not his fault the gov didn't secure their shit better.
ice_sd wrote: [quote]Futility wrote: However, he did break through the government's security. Which is, I'm sure, very illegal. Yes, it was due to their stupidity, etc etc etc. But the fact that he acted on that stupidity is still grounds for imprisonment. Hell, it's like walking into someone's house because the front door was unlocked and rifling through their shit.
Show me the law that says I'm not allowed to walk into an unlocked house and do as I please. It's not his fault the gov didn't secure their shit better. [/quote]
I believe that would be law about tresspasing( tort law cases ), I'd research it before doing something stupid ;)
clone4 wrote: [quote]ice_sd wrote: [quote]Futility wrote: However, he did break through the government's security. Which is, I'm sure, very illegal. Yes, it was due to their stupidity, etc etc etc. But the fact that he acted on that stupidity is still grounds for imprisonment. Hell, it's like walking into someone's house because the front door was unlocked and rifling through their shit.
Show me the law that says I'm not allowed to walk into an unlocked house and do as I please. It's not his fault the gov didn't secure their shit better. [/quote]
I believe that would be law about tresspasing( tort law cases ), I'd research it before doing something stupid ;)[/quote]
If the guy leaves his house open, the law doesn't apply…well at least not in Canada…We'd consider it his fault for forgetting to lock his door or having an alarm system or something.
But since there WAS something to break through in the system it means the "door" wasn't "unlocked".
Would be like, a padlock on a vault door though. But still a lock and if you don't have the key then it's illegal for you to open it! And the fact that he removed user accounts and just destroyed stuff he deserves prison, maybe not 70years (which it won't be) but some years atleast!
root_op wrote: But since there WAS something to break through in the system it means the "door" wasn't "unlocked".
Would be like, a padlock on a vault door though. But still a lock and if you don't have the key then it's illegal for you to open it! And the fact that he removed user accounts and just destroyed stuff he deserves prison, maybe not 70years (which it won't be) but some years atleast!
Yeah, you've got a point there. However, you have to give the guy a pat on the back because, let's be honest, is it really fair for the gov to hide stuff from us? Everything they know and do should be accessible to the public. So really, I congratulate him.
ice_sd wrote: [quote]clone4 wrote: [quote]ice_sd wrote: [quote]Futility wrote: However, he did break through the government's security. Which is, I'm sure, very illegal. Yes, it was due to their stupidity, etc etc etc. But the fact that he acted on that stupidity is still grounds for imprisonment. Hell, it's like walking into someone's house because the front door was unlocked and rifling through their shit.
Show me the law that says I'm not allowed to walk into an unlocked house and do as I please. It's not his fault the gov didn't secure their shit better. [/quote]
I believe that would be law about tresspasing( tort law cases ), I'd research it before doing something stupid ;)[/quote]
If the guy leaves his house open, the law doesn't apply…well at least not in Canada…We'd consider it his fault for forgetting to lock his door or having an alarm system or something.
[/quote]
No offence, but that's stupid… I mean even if you don't have the financial propositions to secure your property, it still is yours, therefor law should apply, regardless of the state in which the property/land is in… For instance, that would mean that if you secure your land with some fence lower then 2 meters, courts could say that fence isn't high enough, and adult can just jump over it
clone4 wrote: [quote]ice_sd wrote: [quote]clone4 wrote: [quote]ice_sd wrote: [quote]Futility wrote: However, he did break through the government's security. Which is, I'm sure, very illegal. Yes, it was due to their stupidity, etc etc etc. But the fact that he acted on that stupidity is still grounds for imprisonment. Hell, it's like walking into someone's house because the front door was unlocked and rifling through their shit.
Show me the law that says I'm not allowed to walk into an unlocked house and do as I please. It's not his fault the gov didn't secure their shit better. [/quote]
I believe that would be law about tresspasing( tort law cases ), I'd research it before doing something stupid ;)[/quote]
If the guy leaves his house open, the law doesn't apply…well at least not in Canada…We'd consider it his fault for forgetting to lock his door or having an alarm system or something.
[/quote]
No offence, but that's stupid… I mean even if you don't have the financial propositions to secure your property, it still is yours, therefor law should apply, regardless of the state in which the property/land is in… For instance, that would mean that if you secure your land with some fence lower then 2 meters, courts could say that fence isn't high enough, and adult can just jump over it[/quote]
I completely agree that it's stupid. You'd be surprised to know just how useless the law is in protecting you. I was just trying to make a point about how hard they're coming down on him even though it was their fault. You really can't blame the guy; everyone's curious to know what the gov's hiding. :P
P.S.> The banks own your property…they own your whole country…
ice_sd wrote:
I completely agree that it's stupid. You'd be surprised to know just how useless the law is in protecting you. I was just trying to make a point about how hard they're coming down on him even though it was their fault. You really can't blame the guy; everyone's curious to know what the gov's hiding. :P
P.S.> The banks own your property…they own your whole country…
Fair enough then:) I get your point, but still whoever will be sticking his nose in government secrets ( even if there aren't any ) you will be damn sure, he'll get punished, even if there isn't really law covering your offences, they will always find something. Point being here is, that whenever you mess with government, they will do anything to maintain their superiority
Well most governments keep secrets and cant allow certain information pass to the public. So lets say a UFO crash's in Mexico and the U.S. finds it first. If they told the public they had found it, the first question would have been where. Its obvious this would cause a bit of a problem. Besides, the U.S.'s FBI commits thousands of criminal acts every year. Many in the U.S. wouldn't care as its there government but other countries might. Many governments consider any public knowledge will be known by there enemy's so a certain amount of information needs to be kept private.
K_I_N_G wrote: Well most governments keep secrets and cant allow certain information pass to the public. So lets say a UFO crash's in Mexico and the U.S. finds it first. If they told the public they had found it, the first question would have been where. Its obvious this would cause a bit of a problem. Besides, the U.S.'s FBI commits thousands of criminal acts every year. Many in the U.S. wouldn't care as its there government but other countries might. Many governments consider any public knowledge will be known by there enemy's so a certain amount of information needs to be kept private.
Fair enough. =)