I’ve just been reading the latest episode in the rather bizarre story of Garry McKinnon; the Scottish born man who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, ( which is one of the Autistic Spectrum conditions) and managed, with simple, commercially available software to hack his way into top secret American military sites !! Stuff like this you couldn’t make up. If there is any one who has not heard of this chap, this, in a nutshell, is his totally weird story.
Seems the chap, like many people with Aspergers, has an extraordinary high IQ coupled with a tendency toward compulsive /obsessive behaviour. His particular obsession turns out to be a fixation with extra terrestrial activities covered up (he believes) by the United States Administration. In the late nineties, McKinnon decided to use his hacker skills for, as he called it, “research”. He told the BBC that he started his “research” because he was convinced that Congress was denying the public critical information about unidentified flying objects and life on other planets. He believes that extraterrestrials have passed on knowledge of ‘free’ and unlimited energy and this information is being withheld from the rest of the world by the United States. In order to research his beliefs he used his computer expertise and experience as a system administrator (presently unemployed) to hack into a total of 97, (the figure claimed by the united States), computers of the American Army and NASA, all between 2001 and 2002. The computer network that Garry apparently “entered” and hacked, comprised of servers and PCs owned by NASA, the American Army, the American Navy, the Defence Department and the American Air Force.
Understandably this really seems to have irked certain individuals away on the other side of the pond. McKinnon was originally tracked down and arrested under the ‘’Computer Misuse Act’’ by the UK National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) in 2002’ who informed him that he would face six months community service. At the time the Crown Prosecution Service refused to charge him. However, later that year he was indicted by the United States government. Some where around this time the United States asked for the extradition of Garry McKinnon under the terms of the controversial 2003 Extradition Act, which makes provision for the extradition of UK citizens suspected of terrorist offences, to, (among other places), America without the need for ‘’prima facie’’ evidence. Which basically means the United States can ask for any one they want from this country if they say that person is a suspected terrorist and there is no requirement under this treaty for them to provide any evidence to support the accusation. The controversy was further fueled by the absence of any reciprocal arrangement in respect of anyone being extradited from the the United States to the UK.
Gary McKinnon was accused of being a cyber-terrorist responsible for the 'biggest military hack of all time’, and this, we are told, is why he must be extradited to stand trial in the United states where he faces a sentence of around 60 /70 years in prison !!!
For the last seven or so years Garry Mckinnon has been fighting this extradition and gathering quite a collection of supporters and protesters along the way. These supporters come from both sides of the pond; they include a whole heap of people from a political and judicial background, they include the almost obligatory rich and famous musicians, pop/ rock stars etc and the whole lot happily campaign alongside the not so rich or famous members of different Autism support groups. Garry himself has apparently become withdrawn, depressed, possibly suicidal, often unable to go out and completely terrified of being extradited. His doctors are now concerned for his health and mental well being. All of which is a pretty understandable reaction to being hounded for the last seven years.
The story is in the newspaper again today because it is the subject of discussion in parliament when MPs will be asked to vote in support of Garry and block his extradition.
My thoughts on this story??
Well, for a start, bizarre though his beliefs are, he is not alone in thinking them. These beliefs are the subject of countless books and conspiracy theories which does explain how easy it was for him to become so convinced and obsessed in the first place.
BUT; most importantly……………………….how the hell did an unemployed system administrator with Asperger's Syndrome manage to hack into some of what should be the most secure computer systems in the world??
watch the videos of his interviews and then see what you think.
A TOTALLY UNBELEIVABLE STORY
