British hacker too ill for US trial - lawyer
A BRITISH computer expert wanted by the United States for "the biggest military hack of all time" begins a final attempt today to avoid extradition.
Lawyers for Gary McKinnon, 43, will argue in London's High Court that he is too ill to be sent to the United States for trial because he has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.
US prosecutors accuse McKinnon of causing $700,000 of damage and shutting down the US Army's entire network of more than 2000 computers in Washington for 24 hours.
At the time of his indictment, Paul McNulty, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said: "McKinnon is charged with the biggest military computer hack of all time."
Using a limited 56K dial-up modem, he found many US security systems used an insecure Microsoft Windows program with no password protection. He then scanned US military networks using off-the-shelf software.
McKinnon says he was searching for proof of alien life
clipped from: www.theaustralian.news.com.au