British Hacker Loses Appeal, Faces Extradition To U.S.

A British man who hacked his way into computer networks run by the Pentagon, NASA and other U.S. government agencies in a search for proof of UFOs is a step closer to being sent to the U.S. for trial.

A British High Court Friday rejected an appeal by Gary McKinnon to halt his extradition to the U.S., where he faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted.

McKinnon's lawyers had argued that extradition was "unnecessary, avoidable and disproportionate" for the charges, according to a report by the BBC. They also said the 43-year-old computer expert suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and is at risk of psychosis or suicide if he is sent to the U.S., the Associated Press reported.

Britain's home secretary and director of public prosecutions have refused McKinnon's requests that he be tried in the U.K., and McKinnon has been appealing those decisions through Britain's House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights, all without success.

The High Court was likely his last chance to avoid extradition, the BBC said, although an appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court remained a possibility. In a 41-page ruling the High Court said extradition was "a lawful and proportionate response" to the charges, the BBC story said.

McKinnon, who was indicted in 2002, is charged with breaking into 97 U.S. government computer networks in 2001 and 2002, including those operated by the Pentagon, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy and NASA. Prosecutors have said McKinnon's actions crippled crucial national security systems around the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including shutting down for three days the network that serves the military district for Washington D.C.

McKinnon's alleged activities caused some $800,000 in damage, according to prosecutors. At the time of the indictment Paul J. McNulty, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, called the case "the biggest hack of military computers ever detected."

While McKinnon has admitted gaining access to the computer networks, he has denied that the effort was malicious or that he caused as much damage as prosecutors say. His lawyers have sought to portray him as an eccentric who should be tried on lesser charges in the U.K.

McKinnon has said he became obsessed with finding proof that extraterrestrials had visited Earth and was searching for pictures and other evidence of aliens and UFOs. He has challenged government estimates of the amount of damage caused by the intrusions, and no one has charged him with belonging to a terrorist network.

Observers say extradition has been relatively rare in international cybercrime and that McKinnon's case could signal the U.S. government's intention to more aggressively prosecute suspects outside the country.