http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/59898.html BILLY BRIGGS April 12 2006 A man born in Glasgow and accused of hacking into the most sophisticated IT systems on the planet and paralysing a US naval base soon after the September 11 attacks could face extradition and 60 years in prison if a court decision goes against him today. Gary McKinnon, 40, is accused of breaking into American defence computers but is contesting an attempt to extradite him, fearing he could be branded a terrorist and face indefinite incarceration. The US government claims he accessed 97 government computers over a one-year period, causing £370,000-worth of damage. One allegation relates to Mr McKinnon deleting operating system files and logs from computers at US Naval Weapons Station Earle after the September 11 attacks, rendering the base's entire network of more than 300 computers inoperable. Mr McKinnon, who admits to unauthorised access using his home computer and Microsoft Windows at his London home, is fighting extradition, arguing he could face up to 60 years in prison or incarceration in Guantanamo Bay. In an interview with Channel Four, Mr McKinnon said if he was tried in the US it would be by military commission and, if so, there was no appeal allowed because President Bush himself reserved the exclusive right of review. He is fearful he could be taken beyond the reach of the US judicial system and sent to Guantanamo Bay, where he would have no access to courts. Unemployed Mr McKinnon, of Wood Green, north London, said: "It (the damages claim) is completely false. An extradition offence must be worth one year in prison. "One IT offence worth a year in prison must be $5000 of damage. So amazingly every machine I was on I am accused of causing $5000 of damage." Mr McKinnon, who claims he was only trying to obtain information about UFOs, said the accusation that he single-handedly brought down a whole system was "scary stuff" and he was sure this was "not possible". But counsel for the US government claimed Mr McKinnon left a note on an army computer saying US foreign policy was akin to government-sponsored terrorism. The note said: "It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand down on September 11th last year... I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels." The hearing at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London is due to finish today. _________________________________ LayerOne 2006 : Pasadena Hilton : Pasadena, CA Infomation Security and Technology Conference http://layerone.info
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