The Gary McKinnon Case

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Gary McKinnon

Case Brief

Gary McKinnon is accused by the United States of perpetrating one of the "biggest military computer hacks of all time." Following legal hearings in the UK it was decided in July 2006 that he should be extradited to the United States. In February 2007 his lawyers argued against ruling in an appeal to the High Court in London, which was turned down in April. He still has the possibility of appealing to the House of Lords using the argument that because the alleged offences were committed in the UK this is where he should be tried. The prison sentence the US justice department is seeking - should Gary be successfully extradited - is up to 70 years. Gary's case has attracted attention due not only to the controversial sentencing and extradition but because of his claims that he found evidence of deliberate airbrushing of UFO-like anomalies and documents mentioning 'non-terrestrial officers' and space-based 'fleet-to-fleet transfers'.


Case History

In 1983, when Gary McKinnon was 17, he went to see the movie War Games at his local cinema in Crouch End, north London. This film created his interest in computers and computer networks and was ironically prophetic of events that would take over Gary's life. Born in Glasgow in 1966, Gary spent some time growing up in Falkirk, Scotland which is close to the infamous Bonnybridge UFO sighting hotspot. Gary's stepfather also encouraged his interest in science fiction books and UFOs generally - giving Gary the impetus to join BUFORA in his teens.

Somewhat frustrated by the common avenues of UFO research, Gary began some basic computer hacking techniques from his girlfriend's Aunt's house in the mid-late 1990s. Soon he began using a system of scanning for blank administrator passwords on supposedly secure networks and found that on certain occasions this was effective for entering systems that could possibly contain information on the UFO and free energy phenomena. A major catalyst for his research was the information he heard about via Dr. Steven Greer's Disclosure Project. Gary claimed one of the reasons he was looking for validation was that "in the UK old age pensioners are dying each winter because they cannot pay their fuel bills..." - the implication being that above-government agencies are keeping highly efficient sources of power, possibly derived from alien hardware, to themselves. The Disclosure Project witness statements also contained reference to photo retouching work done in building 8 of the Johnson Space Centre. McKinnon also made some attempt to confirm this testimony by Donna Hare, a former employee. Hare insisted that NASA was retouching photographs of the lunar surface, airbrushing out “anomalies” such as flying saucers.

By the time his home was raided in 2002, it is claimed that Gary had penetrated a range of secure networks including NASA, the US Army, US Navy, Department of Defence and the US Air Force. Gary claims to have found evidence of photographic or satellite images being retouched before public distribution - he claims that in building 8 he found PC directories with 'before' and 'after' airbrushed images and located pre-tampered images of anomalous objects casting shadows onto the earth surface. However the information that has caused the biggest stir in the Exopolitical communities was Gary's claim to have seen documentary evidence of what could be alternative space programs. This controversial element to the case was based on Gary allegedly finding spreadsheet data relating to 'non-terrestrial officers' and 'fleet-to-fleet transfers'. Gary found names of "ships" listed in this data and separately researched these names against military sea-based vessels but found no correlation. We have only Gary's testimony on these issues as he used a dial-up connection that was too slow to download any images or documentation. The software merely replicated a low resolution version of the remote PC's content on his PC. At one point Gary claims an official at one of the organisations questioned him via a text editor to which Gary claimed he was a technician 'checking for security issues'. On another occasion he claims the his activity was noticed and the connection terminated. An important point raised by McKinnon's supporters is why he alone was targeted. It appears that throughout the many networks he explored there were in fact many other IP addresses that had also gained access, many of which originated in places like China.

After being traced by his purchase of 'Remotely Anywhere' - the software McKinnon used to replicate networked computer contents on his own PC, he was arrested by the UK's then recently formed National Hi-Tech Crime Unit. No charges were brought against McKinnon in the UK, but authorities in the US started extradition proceedings against him. These have continued to this day and may continue for several years yet. In 2003 Britain signed a new United States. This legislation is the notorious Extradition Act, which was passed by the Labour Government after Gary was arrested in 2002. This new treaty included far fewer safeguards for British citizens. Under the previous arrangement, the US government would be required to present evidence in a British court that a crime had been committed. A British judge would review the evidence and make a decision on whether or not extradition should take place. Under the new treaty, however, none of this happened. Extradition was almost automatic. It has been suggested that what Gary is accused of is not necessarily serious crime especially regarding the alleged amount of financial damage. His legal team maintain that the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990, also covers computer "hacking" in foreign countries from the UK, and should therefore should take precedence.

For these reasons and more, the exopolitical field are supporting the case on a human rights issue as much as anything else.


NASA Documents

Case Updates

Update October 2009

There is now a second attempt at the E.C.H.R. where the extra evidence of Gary's Aspergers Syndrome will be introduced.

Update September 2009

Update July 2009

McKinnon's Judicial Review fails to impact on the extradition arrangements and the path is cleared for him to be tried in the USA. One final appeal is initiated. Apart from this - only the intervention of the Prime Minister or Attorney General can now change the situation.

Update February 2009

Update August 2008

Gary's final British stage, the Law Lords appeal against his extradition to the USA has been refused. On 30th July they announced their decision and reasoning from the 16th June hearing. His last move is to take the case before the European Court of Human Rights.

Update May 2008

Exopolitics UK just spoke to Gary - despite the official campaign site giving the June 19th date for the Law Lords extradition hearing it has been moved to June 16th. Gary pointed out that the US legal system can indeed dispute the Lords' decision should it go Gary's way but this in itself may be a positive move. Support Gary Article

Update Feb 2008

Gary McKinnon's Law Lords appeal hearing date set provisionally for Thursday 19th June 2008.

Update January 2008

Update August 2007

Gary McKinnon heard yesterday that he had won the right to have his case against extradition to the US heard by the House of Lords. The agreement by the law lords to listen to arguments that the US authorities acted in an "oppressive" and "arbitrary" manner is the first step in what Mr McKinnon and his legal team hope will be an end to extradition proceedings which began in 2004. He has always argued that, because the alleged offences took place in the UK, that is where he should stand trial. No date has been set for the House of Lords hearing and he remains on bail. "Gary McKinnon is delighted to learn of this important development," said his barrister, Ben Cooper of Charter chambers, last night.

Update June 2007

After British MPs voted to agree to the extradition of Gary and his failure of Appeal at the British High Court he is currently in the process of appealing to the House of Lords on a number of technicalities related to the extradition. The appeal points generally revolve around the plea bargaining process adopted by US officials early on in the case and the status of the terrorist extradition laws themselves.

Profile: Gary McKinnon mastermind behind US military hack

Copyright 2009 - SC Magazine

By Patrick Love, Head of Fiduciary Support, Global Wealth Sol

It's a miserable, cold day and the rain has become persistent. Standing at the entrance to Wood Green tube station, I'm waiting to meet Gary McKinnon, the man US prosecutors claim is responsible for the biggest military hack of all time.

That sounds like an honour, but it isn't. For the man who arrives in jeans, trainers and a baggy black anorak on the other side of the station entrance it's part of a story that threatens to take away his liberty and land him in an American prison for the rest of his life.

The case surrounding McKinnon has been dragging on for more than five years. What is widely known is that he allegedly hacked into a number of US military and NASA computers in 2001 and 2002. He was arrested by detectives from the now-defunct high-tech crime unit after an indictment was issued by US authorities. Nothing much happened for three years, and McKinnon became a bit of a celebrity in the hacking community - although he's keen to point out that he doesn't see himself as any kind of anti-hero.

Then the extradition threat that had been in the background since 2002 suddenly became very real in 2005, when the home secretary cleared the way. Various appeals followed, but since the start of this year it began to feel that time was running out for the former system administrator. His appeal to have the extradition stopped was turned down by the High Court in April, and his hopes now rest with the House of Lords. But the procedure is not encouraging; the High Court has to appeal on his behalf and may refuse to do so. McKinnon now has to wait and see if he gets a call from the High Court. "It could take ages," he sighs. And even then his fate rests with three unnamed law lords, who may or may not make themselves fully aware of the facts in the case.

As we sit down to talk in a coffee shop, he tells me that waiting around is something he has become quite good at over the past few years. Unable to work, he has to fill his time on the £53.14 a week he gets in benefits. Under the terms of his bail he is banned from using the internet, which, he says was annoying at first, but he has got used to it. Then there is the weekly chore of signing on at Wood Green police station to prove he hasn't fled the country. Not that the life of a fugitive appeals. "I wouldn't want to flee. Anyway, my passport has been taken away - even though it ran out in 1982. I've never really been much of a traveller, I always preferred camping in the UK."

The teenage McKinnon was more interested in science fiction and UFOs - an interest that has never left him and is largely responsible for his current predicament. It was his quest for evidence of UFO activity that led him to poke around in NASA and US military computers. He claims that the existence of UFOs is kept secret by a process of ridicule. "Yet, some of the world's greatest problems could be solved. The oil-based economy would be out the window," he says. He really does believe this, too.

Meeting McKinnon you quickly realise that he hardly fits the bill as far as the quasi-terrorist persona the US seem to have created for him. He's quietly spoken and polite. He seems relaxed, sipping his tea, yet it's not hard to imagine the stress he must be under. The beta-blockers his GP prescribed have helped, he admits.

He says he has always been quite good at compartmentalising problems in his mind, although I wonder, when faced with a 70-year prison sentence, how much of a compartment that must take up. "It prays on my mind, but I try to maintain a fair bit of optimism, although my core of confidence and wellbeing, that has been eroded," he says.

In some ways, McKinnon is unlucky. He happened to be active around the time of 9/11 and its aftermath. A press release issued in December 2002 by a prosecuting US attorney talks of the "grave intrusion into a vital military computer system at a time when we, as a nation, had to summon all our defenses against further attack". There is also the matter of the "calling cards" that he is alleged to have left criticising US policy. This can't have helped his case?

"I might have left messages criticising their security, sometimes an anti-US government policy message," he admits. But nothing, he insists, to do with the country or its people. "I've been there, had a great time. I'm not anti-American. I'm just anti-US foreign policy over successive governments." And the alleged damage? "Either they invented that or someone else did it. I would love to see the evidence of the damage, what physical form that took," he says.

He's not alone in this. Other security experts I spoke to have also expressed a degree of scepticism at the US government's damage estimates - it's extremely difficult to prove. Plus there's the issue, often overlooked, at the ease with which McKinnon managed to access so many military-grade systems with off-the-shelf hacking tools. Others in the security community have questioned why no one has been brought to book for this. Some of his supporters say that it is the system administrators that should be tried and prosecuted, he says.

Has the Free Gary McKinnon website helped or hindered his cause? "It's definitely helped. In terms of support I've gotten, it gives a warm feeling." he tells me. He likes the fact that some US military personnel have left abusive messages - with their IP addresses traceable.

If his final appeals fail, then this, he says, is what will happen. It's almost worthy of Kafka. He will get a letter telling him to report to Heathrow airport, where he will be met by two US marshals. He will be cuffed, put into leg irons and taken on to a plane. This will be done by foreign police officers on British soil to a British citizen.

And when he gets to the US, he may have to wait up to two years for his case to come to trial - in jail. In an interview with The Guardian in 2005, he spoke of his terror at the prospect, so bad that he could hardly control his legs as he walked down the road or sleep at night. Now he says, it's not as bad, the fear comes and goes.

He has support from the US as well, especially from the UFO community, who post onto the website. "Dan Aykroyd mentioned me on a US chat show, with David Sereda," he tells me with pride.

He believes that he is caught between two conflicting schools of thought in the US. One is that he has embarrassed the US government and it might be best if the whole thing was forgotten, while others feel he should be made an example of. So what does he think should happen to him? "If I am completely neutral, I would say that I should be tried, but tried in the UK. If I am not, I would say that I would like the whole case to be dropped, as since 2002 my life has been a sentence in itself," he says.

As far as McKinnon is concerned, the UK government has not covered itself in glory over this affair. He feels an affinity with the NatWest Three, extradited to the US for different reasons, but subject to what many people feel is a one-sided extradition treaty. He feels very let down by home secretary John Reid.

"I realised when he was speaking that he understood very little of the US/UK extradition agreement. He was given an A4 brief. I understand more than he does," he says. He claims that someone very senior in the Crown Prosecution Service, told him that someone "very high up" had gone over Reid's head to ensure he would be extradited.

So now his hopes of remaining in the UK rest with the High Court and three unknown Law Lords who will look at his appeal. What would he say to them? "Please review the US/UK extradition treaty in its entirety - it's very definitely one-sided. The US has an agreement with 119 countries. The UK is the only one that will hand over its own citizens without evidence," he says. And if, and it's a big if, he is acquitted and gets his life back, he promises he would devote much of his time to getting that treaty changed.

THE CASE AGAINST MCKINNON

In its indictment, the US government charges seven counts of fraud and related activity that took place between February 2001 and March 2002. Gary McKinnon is accused of illegally accessing 98 computers, variously belonging to the US army, navy, air force, NASA, Department of Defense and a number of private companies.

On each count, McKinnon faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the US Department of Justice, he is responsible for "an estimated loss of approximately $900,000 (£454,000)".

However, the exact level of damage caused is one of the most controversial points in the case against McKinnon. Different figures are routinely bandied about by the press, and the wording of the original indictment is ambiguous; it does not state the actual levels of damage for each of the computers McKinnon is said to have accessed and damaged.

According to the Free Gary McKinnon website (freegary.org.uk/), he admits accessing NASA computers as part of his search for evidence of extra-terrestrial life, but denies deliberately causing any damage.

McKinnon now faces extradition to the US to face these charges. If found guilty, he is effectively looking at life imprisonment. At the time of writing, he is waiting to hear whether his application of appeal to the House of Lords against the extradition has been approved by the High Court.

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