Gary McKinnon
From Hack Story
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Inglés lucha contra extradición Hacker podría ser enviado a Guantánamo
(17/02/2006 06:56 EST): El programador británico Gary McKinnon, de 40 años de edad, libra estos días una batalla judicial en tribunales de su país para evitar la extradición a Estados Unidos. Sus abogados temen que una vez extraditado sea transferido a la temida cárcel de Guantánamo por tiempo indefinido.
Diario Ti: Ataques contra la Armada, el Ejército y la NASA McKinnon está acusado de haber entrado ilegalmente a un total de 97 sistemas informáticos estadounidenses. 53 de ellos pertenecían al ejército estadounidense, 26 a la armada y 16 a la NASA. Los dos últimos sistemas intervenidos por McKinnon pertenecían a la Secretaría de Defensa y la Fuerza Aérea, respectivamente.
En una oportunidad, McKinnon habría dejado fuera de servicio una red completa consistente de 300 computadoras en US Naval Weapon Station Earle. Como parte de su intrusión, el cracker borró archivos del sistema, inutilizándolo.
"Ataque premeditado y calculado" La fiscalía estima que el objetivo de McKinnon habría sido obtener control total de la red completa de las fuerzas armadas estadounidenses. El representante de las entidades estadounidenses afectadas declaró que "McKinnon, de manera premeditada y calculadora, intentó perjudicar al Estado mediante las amenazas y la intrusión".
En caso de ser extraditado y juzgado en Estados Unidos, McKinnon podría ser sentenciado a 45 años de cárcel. Su abogado insiste en que Estados Unidos garantice que el sujeto no será juzgado por un tribunal militar, ya que en ese caso corre el riesgo de ser encarcelado indefinidamente en Guantánamo, escribe BBC.
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ÀLEX BARNET - 21/05/2006
Un tribunal británico acaba de dar luz verde a la extradición de Gary McKinnon, de 40 años, calificado por Washington como "el mayor pirata informático militar de todos los tiempos", y que en Estados Unidos puede ser condenado a varios años de prisión. McKinnon, protagonista de una rocambolesca historia que tiene ingredientes dignos de un capítulo de la serie Expediente X,admite parte de las culpas, aunque alega que lo hizo todo por curiosidad y que en sus pesquisas por encontrar pruebas sobre los ovnis ayudó a descubrir sistemas ridículos de seguridad que así pudieron ser subsanados. McKinnon encaja poco con el perfil de genio del mal y las habilidades informáticas que le atribuye la Administración estadounidense parecen exageradas, pero sus abogados temen que sea encerrado en Guantánamo.
McKinnon fue detenido en Londres en el año 2002 por la policía tecnológica británica acusado de haber accedido y ocasionado daños en diversas redes informáticas del ejército norteamericano, el Pentágono y la NASA. Washington le acusa de una veintena de delitos diferentes, que incluyen la entrada en docenas de ordenadores oficiales, su manipulación, el borrado de ficheros y la apropiación de material clasificado. También se le imputa, entre otras, la caída total de la red (300 máquinas) de la base naval de Earle, en Nueva Jersey, que ocasionó con daños económicos superiores a los 600.000 euros.
McKinnon admite haber realizado incursiones en numerosos sitios oficiales norteamericanos durante años, siempre a través de una conexión telefónica doméstica convencional de 56k (las de antes del ADSL y el cable), sin emplear material especialmente sofisticado y guiado por el deseo de encontrar información oculta sobre los ovnis. Él iba para peluquero, pero a los 17 años vio en el cine la película Juegos de guerra (en la que un hacker desactiva el Pentágono) y se orientó hacia la informática, en la que terminó trabajando como modesto técnico para pequeñas empresas.
Desde muy joven era un lector asiduo de ciencia-ficción, y miembro de Bufora (Bristish UFO Research Association), la organización británica que estudia los platillos volantes y similares. En este campo, lo que más le interesaba era la supuesta tecnología escondida que utilizan los ovnis: "Los pensionistas no pueden pagar sus facturas de luz y gas, hay países que son invadidos por las reservas de petróleo y, mientras, se esconden sistemas gratuitos de energía. Este es el secreto mejor guardado del mundo", afirmó.
Según ha contado, en 1995, cuando tenía ya 29 años, empezó sus actividades sistemáticas como hacker (él no reconoce ser un cracker o pirata informático, cuyo objetivo es sabotear o robar información) en busca de pruebas de esta tecnología. Durante mucho tiempo utilizó el ordenador que había en casa de la tía de su novia y las incursiones se hicieron especialmente intensas en sus últimos meses como hacker.Los cargos norteamericanos se basan en el período comprendido entre febrero del 2001 y marzo del 2002, una época en la que pese al impacto mediático de los atentado del 11-S, McKinnon siguió tranquilamente con sus actividades sin tomar medidas para enmascarar su presencia.
Desde su detención, se ha convertido en un personaje popular en Reino Unido. Las autoridades le han restringido el uso de internet y han controlado sus actividades, pero no han formulado cargos especiales contra él. Actualmente es un desempleado que arregla los ordenadores de sus conocidos y que hace esporádicas apariciones en público. Hace unos días participó en un congreso de seguridad informática celebrado en Londres, donde señaló la necesidad de remodelar las leyes británicas sobre el cibercrimen, que en su opinión están desfasadas.
Ha sido entrevistado por los grandes medios británicos, entre ellos la BBC, cuenta con una web de apoyo (http:// freegary. org. uk) y aprovecha todas las ocasiones para mostrarse arrepentido. También retrata su actividad hacker como un auténtico descenso a los infiernos. Perdió el trabajo, la novia - entre otras cosas, cansada de tener que sufragar unas enormes tarifas telefónicas-, los amigos y durante meses vivió encerrado en su obsesión. "En algún momento dejé de lavarme. No comía adecuadamente. Me sentaba al ordenador y me dedicaba a eso toda la noche sin parar. Al final tenía el deseo de que me cogieran. Era la manera de parar", ha dicho.
Sus narraciones de lo sucedido están llenas de datos inquietantes sobre él, sin duda un personaje pintoresco, y sobre los sistemas y criterios de seguridad que encontró en internet. Asegura que en la mayoría de sitios entró utilizando fallos elementales de seguridad, como la no asignación de contraseñas por parte de los administradores de redes y similares. McKinnon también ha confirmado que para sus incursiones utilizaba a menudo un programa llamado Remotely Anywhere, disponible en la red y que permite el control remoto de ordenadores, siempre que se disponga de la autorización o los códigos de acceso.
Sorprende que sus incursiones durante siete años pasasen inadvertidas. Su larga y obstinada búsqueda, por otra parte, tampoco le ha reportado grandes descubrimientos. McKinnon ha contado que siguiendo la pista del llamado Disclosure Project, que recogería el testimonio de 400 testigos cualificados de ovnis, finalmente localizó en la NASA unas imágenes que confirmaban la existencia de naves que funcionan con sistemas de energía antigravedad. Pero no consiguió descargar ninguna copia de ellas.
El suyo es un caso lleno de enigmas. La defensa ha argumentado su obsesión con los ovnis, pero no ha cuestionado su estado mental, aunque el mismo McKinnon ha reconocido que tomaba drogas y que no recuerda muchas cosas de aquella época. En las acusaciones norteamericanas no se citan conexiones con ningún grupo ni organización. Ysi buscaba notoriedad, la ha conseguido a un precio carísimo. A McKinnon le queda ahora sólo el recurso de la apelación. Si la extradición sigue adelante, las condenas pueden suponerle 10 años o más de prisión. Y sus defensores temen que vaya a parar a Guantánamo, a modo de escarmiento público.
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http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71182-0.html
By Nigel Watson
June 21, 2006
The search for proof of the existence of UFOs landed Gary McKinnon in
a world of trouble.
After allegedly hacking into NASA websites -- where he says he found
images of what looked like extraterrestrial spaceships -- the
40-year-old Briton faces extradition to the United States from his
North London home. If convicted, McKinnon could receive a 70-year
prison term and up to $2 million in fines.
Final paperwork in the case is due this week, after which the British
home secretary will rule on the extradition request.
McKinnon, whose extensive search through U.S. computer networks was
allegedly conducted between February 2001 and March 2002, picked a
particularly poor time to expose U.S. national security failings in
light of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
McKinnon tells what he found and discusses the motivation behind his
online adventures in this exclusive phone interview with Wired News.
Wired News: What was your motive or inspiration for carrying out your
computer hacking? Was it the War Games movie?
Gary McKinnon: This is a bit of a red herring. I have seen it but I
wasn't inspired by it. My main inspiration was The Hacker's Handbook
by Hugo Cornwall. The first edition that I read was too full of
information.... It had to be banned, and it was reissued without the
sensitive stuff in it.
WN: Without this book would you have been able to do it?
McKinnon: I would have done it anyway because I used the internet to
get useful information. The book just kick-started me. Hacking for me
was just a means to an end.
WN: In what way?
McKinnon: I knew that governments suppressed antigravity, UFO-related
technologies, free energy or what they call zero-point energy. This
should not be kept hidden from the public when pensioners can't pay
their fuel bills.
WN: Did you find anything in your search for evidence of UFOs?
McKinnon: Certainly did. There is The Disclosure Project. This is a
book with 400 testimonials from everyone from air traffic controllers
to those responsible for launching nuclear missiles. Very credible
witnesses. They talk about reverse-(engineered) technology taken from
captured or destroyed alien craft.
WN: Like the Roswell incident of 1947?
McKinnon: I assume that was the first and assume there have been
others. These relied-upon people have given solid evidence.
WN: What sort of evidence?
McKinnon: A NASA photographic expert said that there was a Building 8
at Johnson Space Center where they regularly airbrushed out images of
UFOs from the high-resolution satellite imaging. I logged on to NASA
and was able to access this department. They had huge, high-resolution
images stored in their picture files. They had filtered and
unfiltered, or processed and unprocessed, files.
My dialup 56K connection was very slow trying to download one of these
picture files. As this was happening, I had remote control of their
desktop, and by adjusting it to 4-bit color and low screen resolution,
I was able to briefly see one of these pictures. It was a silvery,
cigar-shaped object with geodesic spheres on either side. There were
no visible seams or riveting. There was no reference to the size of
the object and the picture was taken presumably by a satellite looking
down on it. The object didn't look manmade or anything like what we
have created. Because I was using a Java application, I could only get
a screenshot of the picture -- it did not go into my temporary
internet files. At my crowning moment, someone at NASA discovered what
I was doing and I was disconnected.
I also got access to Excel spreadsheets. One was titled
"Non-Terrestrial Officers." It contained names and ranks of U.S. Air
Force personnel who are not registered anywhere else. It also
contained information about ship-to-ship transfers, but I've never
seen the names of these ships noted anywhere else.
WN: Could this have been some sort of military strategy game or
outline of hypothetical situations?
McKinnon: The military want to have military dominance of space. What
I found could be a game -- it's hard to know for certain.
WN: Some say that you have given the UFO motivation for your hacking
as a distraction from more nefarious activities.
McKinnon: I was looking before and after 9/11. If I had wanted to
distract anyone, I would not have chosen ufology, as this opens me up
to ridicule.
WN: Tell me about your experiences with law enforcement and the
procedures you have gone through.
McKinnon: I was arrested by the British National Hi Tech Crime Unit in
March 2002. They held me in custody for about six or seven hours. My
own computer and ones I was fixing for other people were taken away.
The other machines were eventually returned, but they kept my hard
drive that was sent to the U.S. It was November 2002 when the U.S.
Department of Justice started their efforts to extradite me.
WN: The British Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against you
because your activities did not involve British computers.
McKinnon: I was to be officially charged in 2003 but a warrant wasn't
given until 2004.... In June or July 2005, I was scooped from the
street by Scotland Yard. I was kept at Belgravia Police Station
overnight. I just wore what I had on when I was out; I didn't get a
chance to wear a suit in court. I was given police bail.
WN: When will they make a decision about extradition?
McKinnon: It's down to the Home Secretary, John Reid. The deadline for
representations is 21 June 2006. Even after that date, it could be as
much as 11 months for him to decide on my fate.
WN: How have you been coping?
McKinnon: God, it's very worrying and stressful. It's been worse
because I'm unemployed. I worked on and off in IT, contracting and
stuff, before this, but no one will touch me with a large barge pole
now.
© Copyright 2006, Lycos, Inc.
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http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=990732006
By AURA SABADUS 7 July 2006
A SCOT accused of the "biggest military hack of all time" will be extradited to the United States, the Home Office confirmed last night.
Gary McKinnon, originally from Glasgow, faces more than 50 years in prison if convicted in the US of sabotaging vital defence systems, including networks owned by NASA and the country's army, navy and air force.
The 40-year-old has two weeks to appeal the order, which was approved by John Reid, the Home Secretary on Tuesday.
A judge ruled in May that McKinnon, who has been indicted in New Jersey and northern Virginia, should be sent to the US to face trial. However, the decision required Mr Reid's authorisation.
McKinnon allegedly accessed a network of 300 computers at the Earle Naval Weapons Station in New Jersey.
US estimates claim the costs of tracking and correcting the problems he allegedly caused were around $700,000 (£400,000).
McKinnon last night said he was planning to appeal the decision. He added: "I am very worried and feeling very let down by my own government."
McKinnon accused of hacking into 97 United States military and NASA computers between 2001 and 2002.
Lawyers for McKinnon had argued he could even be sent to Guantanamo Bay as a terrorist suspect - despite claiming to have only accessed Pentagon computers looking for information about UFOs.
He has claimed that he was not a malicious hacker bent on bringing down US military systems, but rather more of a "bumbling computer nerd".
But the former hairdresser lost the first round of his battle against extradition in May, when District Judge Nicholas Evans at Bow Street Magistrates' Court dismissed these objections as "fanciful".
Speaking after that hearing, McKinnon vowed to continue resisting attempts to remove him from the country.
He portrayed himself as an amateur hacker who used a dial-up modem to access sensitive government networks from his bedroom in Wood Green, north London.
He said: "I was amazed at the lack of security and the reason I left not just one note but multiple notes on multiple desktops was to say: look, this is ridiculous. My intention was never to disrupt security."
Among the most serious charges are that McKinnon deleted system files and logs at the New Jersey naval base in the immediate aftermath of the 11 September, 2001, attacks, rendering its entire network of more than 300 computers inoperable.
After the hearing in May, McKinnon said he "regretted" his actions but insisted he had been motivated only by curiosity and had not caused any damage.
Solo, as he was known online, was originally arrested under the Computer Misuse Act by the UK National Hi-Tech Crime Unit in 2002. However, he was never charged in Britain.
- The Conservatives yesterday issued an appeal for the "NatWest Three"
to be tried in Britain rather than being sent to the US to face American justice over their alleged role in an Enron fraud.
The party's legal affairs spokesman Dominic Grieve wrote to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith warning that the threatened extradition of the three bankers risked bringing the criminal justice system into disrepute.
David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew, the son of Labour MSP Trish Godman, and Giles Darby are accused of an £11 million fraud in which their former employees NatWest were advised to sell part of an Enron company for less than it was worth.
The three men deny any criminal conduct and have always insisted that if there was a case against them it should be tried in England because that is where they live and where the alleged offences took place.
