NASA Hacker McKinnon Pulls Ace Out of His Sleeve

British hacker Gary McKinnon, who was to be extradited to the United States in order to face prosecution for hacking into NASA and several military systems, has agreed to plead guilty if trialled in the UK. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is considering the proposal, which might prevent his extradition.

Gary “Solo” McKinnon is a 42-year old hacker from London, who hacked into 97 computer systems belonging to NASA and the U.S. military during 2001 and 2002.  The U.S. authorities estimate that he caused $800,000 in damages, and have referred to his actions as being “the biggest military hack of all times.”

McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, and has admitted compromising the security of the sensitive computer systems in order to search for UFO technology that he believed was being kept hidden from the public. However, he denies the claims made by the U.S. officials according to which he deleted files and damaged the systems.

After dodging extradition and prosecution several times, the hacker eventually lost his appeal in the House of Lords last year. Despite earning massive support from the British public, the UK National Autistic Society, and even some government officials, McKinnon's luck seemed to have run out, and he was to be shipped to the U.S. to face a sentence of up to 70 years in prison.

However, a new twist is taking shape, as McKinnon's lawyers have informed the Crown Prosecution Service that the hacker will plead guilty if he is prosecuted in UK under the Computer Misuse Act. If trialled and found guilty in his home country, the hacker is very likely to avoid extradition, not to mention that his sentence is likely to be lighter than the one he would receive in the United States, where his lawyers fear he will be used as a scapegoat.

A spokesman for the CPS has confirmed receiving the correspondence, which is being considered, but did not provide any time frame for a decision. In addition, 80 members of the Parliament have signed a motion to repatriate McKinnon, in order to serve his sentence in the United Kingdom after his trial abroad.

A similar case is that of Romanian NASA and US Navy hacker Victor Faur, who avoided extradition and received a sentence of only 16 months of suspended prison and a fine of $240,000 in Romania. In Faur's case, the US authorities also claimed that he damaged the hacked  computers and caused $1.5 million in losses. Faur has admitted to compromising the systems in order to prove his skills to his hacking gang.

“Whatever the truth, the sorry tale of Gary McKinnon should warn other would-be hackers that they are playing with fire if they break into sensitive networks, and shouldn’t be surprised if the full force of the law goes after them,” Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for antivirus vendor Sophos notes.