Gary McKinnon hacking prosecution called 'ridiculous' by US defence expert

[Cidersomerset]

I thought I would have a look for a update on the Gart McKinnon 'persacution case...
Maybe noises going in sensible direction!!



Gary McKinnon hacking prosecution called 'ridiculous' by US defence expert

Hackers like McKinnon should be recruited, not prosecuted, if the US wants to dominate cyber warfare, one expert says



Rory Carroll in Monterey

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 July 2012 17.36 BST



Computer hacker Gary McKinnon is a potentially invaluable human resource, a US government adviser says. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA


A US government adviser on cyber warfare has criticised the efforts to extradite the computer hacker Gary McKinnon from Britain, saying such people should be embraced rather than prosecuted.

John Arquilla, a professor of defence analysis at the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, said the US authorities were squandering a potentially invaluable human resource and that his extradition would not deter other hackers.

"Personally I think it's ridiculous. And punitive. They're attempting to create a deterrent effect that will not deter and is slowing our progress," he said in an interview with the Guardian.

McKinnon, of Wood Green, north London, claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs when he hacked into 97 Nasa and Pentagon computers from his flat in 2002. His case has become lightning rod in Britain for campaigners against the UK-US extradition treaty, which they say is one-sided.

McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, was arrested in June 2005, and an order for extradition was made in July 2006. The case has dragged through the courts since then.

Arquilla said the US government should think about hiring rather than prosecuting hackers like McKinnon. "There are other places in the world where these communities are embraced by official authority, and these are places that are becoming great cyber powers. The analogy is as if after world war two the Russians were using these rocket scientists while we put the ones we got on trial and incarcerated them."

He said there were some people in the US government who shared his view that hackers should be hired, not prosecuted. "There are good people in many different departments of the US government that are open to this idea, but they are a tiny minority."

Arquilla said that because of hackers' backgrounds in illicit activities, it is hard to get them security clearance. "How can we have a master hacker in our system if we can't get clearance? We have to create a new kind of institutional culture that allows us to reach out to these diverse kind of actors."

Not all at the Naval Postgraduate School were as keen on master hackers. Dorothy Denning, an information security expert at the college's department of defence analysis, expressed compassion for McKinnon but balked at the idea of recruiting him. "It's a sad case. He obviously has some personal problems. I wouldn't want to hire him. But maybe he is someone who doesn't belong in prison either."

She acknowledged the skill of certain hackers but ruled out hiring them if they were committing illegal acts. "It's one thing snooping into other people's computers when you're 13, 16, 18, but if you're still doing that when you are 30 or 40, that's something else."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...prosecution-us

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Mother of Gary McKinnon, Janis Sharp talks to George Galloway

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVohcwJxWME

Published on 10 Jun 2012 by OwilsonO


Janis Sharp, Gary McKinnon's mum speaks to George Galloway about Gary, Aspergers and the 10 year wait for justice. In 2002, while looking for evidence of UFOs, Gary discovered that many many NASA and Pentagon computers had no passwords setup or firewalls installed. Shocked by this he left numerous notes warning them that their security was deeply flawed. In response to this America demanded Gary's extradition to face 60 years in an American prison. Janis has been fighting for her son ever since.

Project Camelot interviews Gary McKinnon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fNsa...eature=related

[Cidersomerset]

UFO Crash Con: UFO Hacker Gary McKinnon - Inside Story

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng7KFGqh8ao

From UFOTV®, accept no imitations. Research by Matthew Williams - In 2001, a British man named Gary McKinnon allegedly carried out the "biggest military computer hack of all time" when he accessed US Government computer systems in search of data on UFOs. Using the codename of "Solo," McKinnon is said to have hacked into hundreds of computers over a period of18 months - something which, U.S. prosecutors claim, caused no less than $700,000 worth of damage. The U.S. government maintains that McKinnon's hacking activities were "intentional and calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion." Today, McKinnon faces impending extradition to the United States (having been denied trial in his home country of England), and possible jail time of 70 years. What is the truth behind this strange saga? What is the real story of the files on "Non-Terrestrial Officers" that McKinnon found? How does this tie-in with UFOs? In a groundbreaking lecture, British UFO expert Matthew Williams reveals the startling facts of this real-life X-Files-style saga.

[shadowstalker]

It's a shame even if the gov. did so called hire, him one of two would happen.

He would serve as slave to the gov for his 70 yrs jail time or he would just be in jail...

[noprophet]

The thing about it is there was no real high-level hacking involved. He basically gained access to a side network that hadn't been secured past the default admin passwords and slowly worked his way in from there. He goes into detail about it in his interview with Kerry. It also makes the charges even less applicable due to the nature of the process. ( e.g. causing no damage to get in.) I've talked to Janis a couple times and she's a super nice lady, my heart really goes out to them.

There's no reason Gary should be near a jail, let alone extradited.

He simply saw something he wasn't supposed to and came forward with it. Soon after everyone's attention got diverted to white-house-phone-calls.
(It's funny how wiwkileaks constantly diverts attention while never providing any real substance.)

[GK76]

This just seems like a way to bypass extradition and the legal process. They would just invite him over under a false pretence, perhaps even to be pardoned, then once on US soil they'll find out how much he really knows. From there it is so easy for him to disappear, they can simply pass it off as him having chosen to do 'classified' work for the US gov. and he will drop off the radar. After all that's always government agenda - to make the problem disappear.

Truth be told I have always had problems seeing this whole farce as a legitimate legal action. Honestly, what military organisation would be so weak regarding security? 20/30 years ago perhaps, but now when even a home PC can get better protection for cheap? How and why would a novice techy be able find this small hole in a massive network? Sorry, but I've been in IT for almost 20 years and the architecture of networks like this are very tightly controlled, and this was a mere council admin building I worked at... THAT was the US military. One or both parties must be lying about their knowledge prior to this incident. Occam's razor just doesn't fit in with this story.

[NancyV]

The military and/or black ops have been "recruiting" hackers for decades. My husband delivered the "offer" to a couple of hackers in the past when he was a black ops dude for the gov't. The message is basically that they can choose a very well paid "job" and a life of luxury while working for the government or they will be disappeared. The smart ones accept the job offer. The others disappear, one way or another.

Gary, unfortunately, was not a high level hacker, as noprophet stated in his(?) post. So some government idiot thought they would make an example of him. All they succeeded in doing was stupidly making this into a cause celebre that has become overall detrimental to them. Poor Gary McKinnon is just a chump who made a stupid mistake doing something he thought would be fun... and he's likely to pay for it for a very long time.

[Cidersomerset]

I personally think Gary is being used as a high profile deterrent !! I ts obvious he has never been a threat to security !!
He is just one of us looking for answers !!

All this 'Rollicks' about national security is a totaL JOKE !!