To the United States, he is a seriously dangerous man who put the nation's security at risk by committing "the biggest military computer hack of all time." But Briton Gary McKinnon says he is just an ordinary computer nerd who wanted to find out whether aliens and UFOs exist.During his two-year quest, McKinnon broke into computers at the Top of Form 1Bottom of Form 1Pentagon, Top of Form 2Bottom of Form 2NASA and the Johnson Space Center as well as systems used by the U.S. army, navy and air force.U.S. officials say he caused $700,000 worth of damage and even crippled vital defense systems shortly after the September 11 attacks.The unemployed computer programmer is now battling extradition to the United States, where, if found guilty, he faces up to 70 years in jail and fines of up to $1.75 million. His lawyer fears he could even be sent to Guantanamo Bay.It's all a far cry from how he first got into hacking: watching a film about a teenage boy who breaks into a military central computer and almost starts World War Three."I had seen the film 'War Games' and I do remember clearly thinking at the time, that's amazing -- a great big military computer system and a young, spotty teenager," the softly spoken 39-year-old told Reuters in an interview. A decade later, McKinnon, armed with information gleaned from the book, "The Hacker's Handbook," began his snooping.

During 2000-1 from his home in Hornsey, north London, and using a computer with just a limited 56K dial-up modem, he turned his sights on the American government and military."My main thing was wanting to find out about UFOs and suppressed technology," he said insisting his intention was not to cause damage. "I wanted to ... find out stuff the government wouldn't tell you about."He said it was easy, despite being only a rank amateur. Using the hacking name "Solo," he discovered that many U.S. top-security systems were using an insecure Microsoft Windows program and had no password protection at all."So I got commercially available off-the-shelf software and used them to scan large military networks ... anything I thought might have possible links to UFO information," he said.

View: Full Article | Source: Yahoo! News

I don't know why, but I've got lots of admiration and respect for this guy

Wonder if we'll ever find out what he discovered, if anything.

this guy should go to jail...



the 'motive' of a crime, doesn't excuse a crime....

he probally discovered some top-secret militant weaponary, if anything.

but wow, the worlds strongest weaponary force and security hacked by an average kid, 1000 miles away. haha, you'd have guessed they'd have been more secure, right now I'd still be giving them hell if i were president, for having such lack security...

As far as Im concerned, this is conclusive proof for all those ignorant skeptics out there.

The guy faces 70 years in jail, Its very unlikely he would be making it up.

I was just reading this article about him and felt really sorry for the guy and his future prospects. Pretty interesting stuff further down.

EDIT: Oops, forgot the link

hm... I cant read the whole article, yahoo's already changed the news topic. which is why i hat sources linked to yahoo...

This link should work

Although its not hard to type a few words in Google.

You can consider it conclusive proof if you like, but to skeptics it is nothing more than another testimony among thousands, and testimonies are not proof. Testimoneys can support proof, but they are not proof themselves.

the guy shouldn't be put to prison for 70 years for not even hacking into files. Their network wasn't secured with passwords...so that isn't considered hacking because it was wide open for anyone to view. This guy seen something he shouldn't have seen and they caught him by accident. He wasn't a terrorist they should be thanking this kid because he has shown that how can the military secure our country when they can't even secure a computer network from the reach of outside public.

the guy knows that he seen things that he shoudn't have seen...he knows he was comitting crime, but for this crime he didn't steal anything besides information which should have been released to the public to begin with. The guy should be freed and put to work for the military with helping them to secure their network! that is final!

I agree. That guy sshould be freed and put to work in national security. He isn't a terrorist, he simply wanted to know what was going on. Besides, if something ever happens, UFO wise, expect this guy to be broken out of prison.

Anyway, I commend him.

Well, I've heard of "the end justifies the means." I don't know, but I bet a lot of governments and officials use that saying.

I'm rooting for him, he's like you and me trying to find out info, he just beat the powers that be and they're pissed. Someone can rape a woman and only get 5-7 years prison, whereas a guy finding out governement secrets for the general public will get 70 years? Gotta love the police state the world is coming to. And the sad thing is, the PTB (powers that be) have rallied the everyday person against someone who could potentially be a hero.

Think of all the possible illegal things the governements of the world probably have committed. This guy just proved they can be exposed.

He's an information "robin hood," but that's just my humble opinion.

Peace

If he goes to jail I hope people stand up for him. I would.

I totally agree with green dude. They want to jail him for busting them out on their lies?

"Officials say he caused $700,000 worth of damage and even crippled vital defense systems shortly after the September 11 attacks."

^I doubt that...it just gives some people a reason to not agree with what he did. I don't see how he could bring down defense systems and cause that much damage by looking at pictures and reading text.

I guess I should start making my "Free McKinnon" T-shirts.

I've never protested or anything before...but I would fight this till the end.

It would be a sad sight to see a man die in a jail cell for wanting to know the truth.

As mentioned earlier in the topic, people cause murder and rape, and get much lower sentences than what this man has. Jail for 70 years seems absolutely silly. If anything he did them a favour by showing them that they have a weakness in their security measures.

Also, the fact he claims he was stoned and such whislt doing this, does not help his otherwise itneresting claims on what information he found, such as a possible secret spaceship by the Americans in space. He is allowing leaway for people to combat his claims of what he saw, with possible comments such as "You were stoned and imagined these things that you claimed to have seen".

Truth is a tricky business. If this man had decided to dive into your personal files, would you still be rooting for him? What if he just wanted your family to know about those pictures in your computer? What if he was just interested in how much you had in your bank account? What if he just wanted to take a look at your daughter's e-mails?

The man broke the law. Just because you don't like the 'government' that he committed a crime against doesn't mean that the man is a hero.

No it is not coclusive proof. It is not verifable. So I guess I will call you ignorant for believing him.

QUOTE(polarsnake @ Apr 28 2006, 08:03 AM) [snapback]1166890[/snapback]

I don't know why, but I've got lots of admiration and respect for this guy

Same here.

QUOTE(RedEyeJedi @ Apr 28 2006, 08:18 AM) [snapback]1166900[/snapback]

Wonder if we'll ever find out what he discovered, if anything.

I think he might've found something.

TeraLink Was Here!

Aquatus1 raises a good point, the thing is, the government is here for what? For our protection. Living in America my whole life, I've had the ability to read any info I want, and have more freedoms than some in other parts of the world. We were originally founded as individual states that had a federal government for protection. Here's the problem, what if we need protection from the government? Secret pics hidden from my family is not a matter that affects everyone on the earth. Secrets and scandals the government hides does.

I'm all for people's privacy, but he didn't "spy" or hack on people. He hacked the US's intelligence. More specifically, looking for information on UFO's.

But let me ask you this aquatus1, is it OK for the government to hack your files? I mean, it will be for the sake of security, right? I think you would be surprised what the NSA and CIA can and does do.

Peace

P.S. The whole "it was illegal" thing, well, sometimes things are illegal when they should be legal, and vise versa. It takes someone to break the law in order for the change. An example off the top of my head would be SLAVERY. Not legal by today's standards, but perfectly legal 170 years ago. So does that mean it was OK then, but not now? That is a weak retort used by those in the majority's thought. What about Rosa Parks, she did something illegal in her time. Or all those damn black people using the underground railroad. Those people should've been locked up, you know, because it was against the law to run away from your owner. (I laid on the sarcasm pretty thick to ensure no one thought of that as a racist remark)

The guy's 39 years old. He's hardly a kid.

And just because there were no passwords doesn't mean a crime hasn't been commited. If you were to leave personal information out on your lawn, if you have one ( a stupid thing to do, admittedly), and somebody came along and took it, it would still be stealing.

Of course, one would like to think that one's government is not keeping secrets from it's citizens. But I, personally, so distrust anything, or anyone, political that I wouldn't put anything past my government.

Okay so its clear that everyone here is split two ways.. its either the law is law, or he did the government a favor. I guess it just depends on how bad you want to know that UFO's and other life forms exist that decides how you judge what this guy did. I personally would love to hear about what he discovered so of course I think that a 70 year old sentence is not right for the crime he commited. It sucks that he got this close and we don't get to hear in detail about what exactly he discovered. Not to mention he ruined his life.. was it worth it? Thats a question to bare in mind.

Seems you don't understand the effect the government files would/will have on the world as opposed to mine. If someone hacked into my computer, that's invasion of privacy. Nothing I have on my computer will effect the world in any way, shape, or form, whereas UFO files that are stored in military databases would, gasp, change the lives of everyone. Please, next time think before you reply.

i coubt he'll get jail time. He probably end up working for the government to help them with their security

It would only be for the sake of our security if the NSA and the CIA was able to prove that it was for our national security. I know many people like to assume any agency covered under the vague umbrella of "government" have carte blanche to operate, but the simple fact of the matter is that they have to jump through as many hoops as anyone else when it comes to doing what they do.

So, is it okay for the government to hack into my files? It isn't about okay or not okay. It is about necessity. If the government feels that I am a security risk to my country, I would expect them to hack into my files. The thing of it is, however, that they would do so following the regulations they have for such things. They wouldn't do it out of simple curiousity.



What's with that response? We're all being civil here, so don't get snippy.

1. the goverment is NOT going to let someone who wants to learn about there secrets work on their computers and tell the public thats a fact

2. if the man found nothing then he is free he simply hacked in and out without knowing the consqunces of his actions how the heck was he supposed to know that crippled our defense systems if the goverment never told us about that

3. i doubt the man will be alive anymore he will die or be silened by the gov (my conspracy side)

4.I would like the goverment to say what he found or they will not have a good case

5. even if someone stole my personal info so what i just get better programing and hope it doesn't happen again but its not WORLD threating if someone learns about my recent trip to florida but if someone figures out about Area 51 RED ALERT lets make up lies to cover this up

6. good point green dude what is illegal now will not be illegal maybe in 5 million years however if what the gov says is true ( which i doubt their probaly covering their butts to look good) then this man commited a crime however we have no proof this actually happened PLUS how are we going to belive what the gov says if they never told us our security systems were down

7. 70 years for something so simple and not hurtful in anyway is dumb the man should be punished but no this much maybe 15-20yrs BUT defininalty not 70

basically saying you can't defend yourself if you have no proof it happened

i love this guy !!

the gov't hacks into our files anyway... this guy is a hero in some respects. He should not be put in jail in my opinion

I hope he comes out of this alright, its about time somebody with balls made a move.. This guy is ganna be a legend when UFO sh** is out.. And after reading that, its not his fault the pentagon has a sh**ty protection.. Much love for this guy..

What did he actually say about the UFO's? I read the article and he didn't say that much about the information he found, i also read something about him knowing that America possess anti-gravity technology but is that all he has to give on information?

yeah and the average hackers sentence i belive is 20-30 years

I've got about 23 different mocha flavoured opinions about this topic. Sure, he didn't do much and he wasn't trying to harm anyone, but imagine if someone else hacked our gov's files and seriously f***ed things up? What if we could lose, say 400,000 people due to careful manipulation of security and a terrorist attack on a massive scale? Can you imagine the hysteria that would cause? Can you imagine our country tearing itself apart like a million rabid rats in a small room?

I know our government should have a more secure mainframe, but you have to realize no matter how corrupt it is our government is STILL responsible and STILL does care for the well being of MILLIONS of people. Doesn't mean this man deserves 70 years in prison, but people don't see things in scales that benefit our country.

Besides, history has always found a scapegoat when we always needed one.

But I still have faith in our government, sort of. And I'm a libertarian.


Just my 2 cents,

Ned.

Haha, ya right. His kind is a dime a dozen, he isn't a brilliant hacker... He's just some techie that read a hacker's handbook and decided to give it a shot.



So far, all I know he found was a list of government official names, a probing surveilance robot for dangerous situations, and a couple of pictures of satelites.

From a neutral perspective, both the Government and the Hacker in question have done serious crimes. You only need to look at history for my point to hold true.

Where blind patriotism lies, pure ignorance forms from it that can lead you astray from the common good of the people. (Juss thought of this myself )

About his quest for knowledge...
Well if this is true, his thirst for knowledge is commendable in my honest opinion. I mean, if I was in his position I may have thought of it myself, but probably would have had other people along for the ride "Two-heads are better than one", but i prefer many heads I also would like to know what the US has on this information, but you don't have to look so far to see what's right in front of our faces...

The extradition
Well, seeing as this is a serious crime, as even if the Government held information other than aliens, ghouls or ghosts, there are other information such as military tactical and logistical information. If this information were leaked the US would be facing a major National Security and the "enemy" would have the upper hand if ever a technological war broke out.


The guy should be hired by the US Government to maintain the National Security computer systems from falling into the hands of other computer hackers. "If you can't beat em', join em'" as the saying goes...


My Side Comments
This case shows how easily someone can hack into the US computer systems, even by an amatuer. If anyone can do this to the US, I wouldn't be surprised if other people have broken into other Countries' computer systems--and we have been lead to believe the US is the most technologically advanced country in the world. They can't even put up a decent "firewall protection" from amateur hackers.

We still have a lot to learn....

I'll never understand it.. why are those networks open to the outside anyway? it looks like they're asking for it.

To be honest I would be happy if he did that and I was in the us military, why? Because its better to have a kid like this do it and find the security faults rather than a terroist hacker doing real serious damage.

It was a very stupid thing do to though...not that I haven't thought about it...but i'd never be stupid enough to try it.

in owrld war one it was ilegal to participate in or donate money to wantiwar campaigns so liek how we have protest against the irtaq war it wasnt allowed back then so now u may think to yourself well thats stupid right? well a man after sitting at one meeting to see what they had to say left and droped a dollar into a collection bin u might tihnk ok a dollar who cares right? he got procucated to the farthest extent of the law why? because it was ilegal it was back then the same as giving a dollar to al queda. its wrong yes it wasnt totaly harmful yes it was better that he did it other then a a terriorist BUT yes he hacked into the goverment colesd files yes he broke the law yes he deserves to be punished for it its the only fair way to go about it. laws are laws for a reason and to be a citizen in a country you are liable for any laws u break. fair or not he should face the concenquences because who in there right mind would think they can hack the gov and not get in trouble?