http://www.examiner.com/x-45214-Canada-Internet-Security-Examiner~y2010m5d28-NASA-hacker-will-be-extradited-to-the-US
YAY! "Britain's Gary McKinnon who allegedly hacked into United States Government computers in 2001 and 2002 will be extradited to the US to face up to 60 years in prison."
I'm glad that they followed through and that he will be tried for what he did. I do not think that the man deserves 60 years in prison because he did not actually harm anyone, but I do think that he needs to be held accountable for the Millions of dollars in damages that he caused. If you have no clue why he is in trouble, check out a previous post that I did called, "Hacking for UFOs". Otherwise, I'm sure that he has a wikipedia page by now.
I have a hunger for knowledge and I always want to know how things work...just ask Ellen. However, it is common knowledge that breaking into a high security system (like those that the U.S. Gov't have) will land you in a world of hurt. Blackhat Hacking is illegal. Greyhat hacking is...well..., not really illegal but illegal at the same time. While Mr. McKinnon wasn't trying to hurt anyone, he was breaking into systems that he did not own.
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Millions of dollars? Where are you getting that from? The indictment refers to $700,000-odd. (Which coincides exactly to the minimum threshhold amount required to create an extraditable offence). If you have such a hunger for knowledge, perhaps you ought to get your facts straight before you go around delighting in such a brutal and blatant injustice.
ReplyDeleteFYI, it has been proven in court that Gary McKinnon didn't cause a single dollar worth of damage, and didn't commit any extraditable offence. He will therefore not be extradited, despite the US government's bizarre and inexplicable pursuit of him, against all the evidence and against all reason and justice.
Oh, and he didn't break into or hack anything. There were no passwords or firewalls on any of the machines he accessed. Microsoft themselves have said that what he did does not amount to a hack.
ReplyDeleteSarah-Jane,
ReplyDelete"McKinnon is accused of breaking into US military computers, including those belonging to NASA, in an attempt to prove the US government had knowledge of UFOs in 2001. The US has accused McKinnon of stealing 950 passwords, deleting files at a naval base in New Jersey and rendering the military computer networks used following September 11 useless."
(http://www.examiner.com/x-45214-Canada-Internet-Security-Examiner~y2010m5d28-NASA-hacker-will-be-extradited-to-the-US)
He did hack into the systems. Illegal or unauthorized access is considered hacking, whether or not he used hacking tools, scripting, or just clicked on ‘login’. You say that he didn’t cause a single dollar worth of damage; however damages don’t just include things that he broke…if any. Damages also relate to the amount of money that was spent on the investigation, the manpower to analyze the system and re-secure it, and to have a forensics investigation done on each machine that was compromised. No, he did not cause millions of dollars in damages. It was an exaggeration and I apologize that it was not made clearer in my post. I do agree with the US trying to extradite him. Any other country would do the same and anyone who doesn’t believe that is ignorant.
I do have a hunger for knowledge and I know a lot about computers and technology. I am entering into the Technology Forensics field and I understand computer and cybercrime law. Before you go bitching about injustice, please get your facts straight and learn what is illegal and legal. Please post your source for the court case. I would love to read it!
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/mckinnonIndict.htm
“One count charges McKinnon with accessing and damaging without authorization a computer used by the military for national defense and security. Other computers hacked by McKinnon include computers located at military bases throughout the United States and the Pentagon. The indictment alleges that Gary McKinnon scanned a large number of computers in the .mil network, was able to access the computers and obtained administrative privileges. Once he was able to access the computers, McKinnon installed a remote administration tool, a number of hacker tools, copied password files and other files, deleted a number of user accounts and deleted critical system files. Once inside a network, McKinnon would then use the hacked computer to find additional military and NASA victims. Ultimately, McKinnon caused a network in the Washington D.C. area to shutdown, resulting in the total loss of Internet access and e-mail service to approximately 2000 users for three days.”
I appreciate the discussion that you have brought to this post. This is an open area for discussion and I encourage you to post your ideas, thoughts and opinions. I will never censor your post unless it is racists, sexist, or otherwise illegal.
Thanks,
Tim