Many saw his treatment as unjustified. Those who knew the history of NASA cybersecurity knew that Gary McKinnon was not only not a dangerous criminal, he was not even particularly unique. It began when a woman saw Gary on T. Gary was at once a highly intelligent child—interested in cosmology from a very young age, constantly reading, self-taught in Beethoven and Beatles piano songs as a pre-teen—and troubled, in ways that made it difficult to associate with others. By age 10 he developed a fear of the outdoors, and refused to play with other children.
As all the other kids socialized, and came to know the rules governing society, Gary locked himself indoors, developing obsessions with all things aliens and computers.
You can see, then, how Gary became the person he did. This, in turn, affected his job prospects. He had friends, but always felt most comfortable on his own.
Long stretches of time spent in front of a screen, away from civilization, was his norm. Make an exception on those grounds, and suddenly lawyers until the end of time have a new insanity defense. On top of those more logical considerations, the Americans had reason to be angry.
Army, Air Force, and Department of Defense. He stole around passwords, trashed around 1, user accounts. He deleted files at a naval weapons station, and a U. All this being said, you have to feel empathy for the guy. He may have been a nuisance to the U. He was stuck. A groundswell of support formed around Gary during his time awaiting trial. His mother wrote a book, and ran for local office. The harsh U. The tension grew greater and greater, until it reached the highest rungs of pop culture and politics.
At a White House press conference in , a U. Both President Obama and David Cameron deflect. It would be a long s for Gary McKinnon as he fought to stay in Britain, and as his likelihood of achieving it so swayed back and forth. At his first hearing, in April , a note from the U. But the note was unsigned. Was it binding? A Formal Block Finally, in October , after a decade-long battle, his case came to a close. The American extradition request to the U. He was informed that he would face no criminal charges in the U.
Gary evaded being sent to an American jail, but reading about his story and listening to his media interview, I have a feeling never the less suffered quite a lot for what he did. Keep in mind, during all this: as depressed as you or I might be, in the face of many decades in jail, the feeling must have been much worse for Gary, a man who believed the U. He had no job. He had no children. He felt he was useless.
Back to Cybereason. Written By Malicious Life Podcast. About the Author Malicious Life Podcast The Malicious Life Podcast by Cybereason examines the human and technical factors behind the scenes that make cybercrime what it is today. All Posts by Malicious Life Podcast. About the Guest Lior Rochberger Security Analyst at Cybereason Lior is a senior threat researcher at Cybereason, focusing on threat hunting and malware research.
About The Malicious Life Podcast Malicious Life by Cybereason exposes the human and financial powers operating under the surface that make cybercrime what it is today. If he was convicted in the US he could face up to 70 years in prison. He was diagnosed after an expert in autism watched him in a television interview and contacted his solicitor. The initial hunch was confirmed by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a leader in the field. The Americans allege he altered and deleted files at a US naval air station not long after the terrorist attacks on 11 September They describe Mr McKinnon's hacking as "intentional and calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion".
But Mr McKinnon, or Solo as he was known online, has always said he is no web vandal, nor virus writer, and he never acted with malicious intent. In a BBC interview in he said: "I found out that the US military use Windows and having realised this, I assumed it would probably be an easy hack if they hadn't secured it properly.
Using commercially available software, Mr McKinnon probed dozens of US military and government networks. He found many machines without adequate password or firewall protection.
So he simply hacked into them, he said. He added: "I thought if someone is holding onto that, that is unconstitutional under American law. Nasa hacking case: mothers accuse US of targeting British 'geeks'. Published: 29 Oct The real victims of NSA surveillance. Published: 11 Jun Published: 7 Feb Home secretary Theresa May overhauls extradition laws. Published: 6 Feb Published: 5 Feb My first Christmas … My first Christmas… since winning our fight against extradition.
Published: 21 Dec Gary McKinnon will face no charges in UK. Police and CPS say chances of convicting alleged computer hacker, who won fight against US extradition, would be poor. Published: 14 Dec Published: 8 Nov The Northerner Black and ethnic minority communities are getting angry.
0コメント