After eight years of litigation, accused British hacker Gary McKinnon is set to be extradited to the United States to stand trial.
Shortly after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, computer break-ins at more than 90 U.S. military and governmental agencies caused severe security compromises and data destruction. In 2002, U.S. investigators reportedly tracked the software used for the attacks to an e-mail account belong to McKinnon’s girlfriend. Since that time, the United States has sought McKinnon’s extradition.
On Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights — where appeals had escalated the case — finally gave the OK to send McKinnon to the United States. But in what some see as a last-ditch effort to keep McKinnon on British soil, reports are circulating that the 42-year-old has just been diagnosed with Aspberger’s syndrome. Aspberger’s is often described as a form of high-functioning autism. In itself, this diagnosis wouldn’t prevent his trial in the United States, but British law may see things differently.
The Crime
McKinnon has already admitted publicly that he broke into U.S. government computer systems, but he maintains he did no damage. Justice Department officials charge, however, that he compromised and deleted records at a key naval-operations center in New Jersey and repeatedly crashed systems belonging to NASA and the Pentagon. McKinnon claims he was snooping for evidence of a UFO cover-up by the U.S. government.
Allegedly, McKinnon posted the following message on a military computer system during his months-long spree: “U.S. foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism these days … It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand down on September 11 last year … I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels.”
McKinnon and his lawyers rejected several plea offers by the…