Published: 2006-05-10
A judge in a British court today gave the green light for McKinnon to stand trial in the U.S. state of Virginia. The American government alleges the hacker entered 97 U.S. government computers, calling it the "biggest every military hack" in American history. While McKinnon does not deny the intrusions, he also claimed in a recent BBC interview that a number of these systems actually had blank or default passwords. McKinnon denies that he caused any damage; the U.S. claims he caused $700,000 in damages but has not addressed the claim of blank passwords on high security military systems.
Few, if any, in the security community consider McKinnon an elite security expert, including McKinnon who once described himself as a bumbling nerd. However even with limited knowledge McKinnon was still highly effective at finding critical U.S. military information, and could face decades of jail time if convicted in America. McKinnon's lawyers also claim there is a chance he could be tried in a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay as a foreign terrorist.
McKinnon has lost only the first stage of his attempt to avoid extradition to the U.S. The extradition request must by approved by the British home secretary, which could take up to two months for a decision. Additionally, McKinnon is able to appeal the decision, which his lawyers have stated they will do.
Posted by: Kelly Martin
