Pentagon, NASA Hacker to Face Extradition

A British hacker accused of infiltrating computers at NASA and the Pentagon has failed in his most recent attempt to evade extradition to the United States. Gary McKinnon may soon be making his way across the pond to face charges stateside.

For some time McKinnon has been lobbying London's High Court in a desperate attempt to avoid being extradited to America. Unfortunately for McKinnon, the High Court has refused to even hear the case, pointing out that it did not meet "points of law of general public importance." In other words, the case simply doesn't warrant a halt on the extradition. (Source: crn.com)

McKinnon Case Complicated by Syndrome

McKinnon has been fighting a crusade to stay in the United Kingdom for a few years now. Although a July 2006 order approved his extradition, a year later the British House of Lords ruled that his case could be heard, but that they could not guarantee he wouldn't be sent to the United States to face charges of infiltrating almost a hundred computers owned by NASA and the U.S. military.

Much of the reason Scottish-born McKinnon wants to stay in Britain has to do with his recent diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder that can cause obsessive behavior and have significant impact on communication skills.

It's not yet clear whether McKinnon's psychological condition can be blamed in any way for the crimes, which the accused admits to have committed. McKinnon claims he made the hacks in search of information on UFOs, and did not mean to threaten U.S. national security.

ACLU Supports McKinnon

McKinnon has received considerable support in his fight to stay home, not least of which has been offered by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which wrote a letter to London's Foreign and Commonwealth Office asking it to reconsider any extradition order. "The recent tragic case of Gary McKinnon highlights the need to ensure that an individual's case is properly judicially reviewed and the courts have the power to bar extradition if the interests of justice require it," said the ACLU at the time.

McKinnon and his lawyers have been given two weeks by the U.K. government to consider their options moving forward. (Source: pcworld.com)