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Nasa hacker's mother: My son won't survive jail
Benedict Moore-Bridger13 Jan 2009
THE MOTHER of accused computer hacker Gary McKinnon today called on Gordon Brown to prevent him being extradited to the US.
Janis Sharp insisted her son was not an evil mastermind, but had simply got carried away looking for evidence of aliens because of his Asperger's Syndrome.
Mr McKinnon faces 70 years behind bars in America for what was the biggest hacking operation in US military history, causing an estimated $1billion damage. The 42-year-old admits hacking into Nasa and Pentagon computers from his north London bedroom in 2002, but denies any malicious intent.
Mrs Sharp said her son would not survive jail.
She said: "I would say to Gordon Brown and David Cameron, you both have vulnerable young sons. Should we really be extraditing our vulnerable adults and letting them serve 70 years abroad? He's absolutely petrified."
Reader views (13)
It's overkill. He didn't even have malicious intent, let alone social skills.
Weird how they crack down highly on someone like him, but not feral ASBO kids...
- An Other, Leeds/Liverpool, UK, 07/12/2009 15:17
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I'll bake him a cake with a file and he can hack his way out. No way should he be sent to the US. Imagine the Pentagon being hacked by an amateur. They should be glad he has shown the World how stupid they are.
- Frederick, London UK, 07/12/2009 14:17
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Ummm - isn't this a cart before the horse thing, these comments?
They want him to face trial in the US for what he did. That means he hasn't been sentenced to ANYTHING yet. That's the point of having a trial in the first place.
As for him not doing any harm? An estimated 1 Billion dollars isn't 'nothing'. Something that hackers are always claiming - if they can get into a system then its the fault of the system owners. Wrong - its the fault of the people who go out of their way to break into the system. Just because someone finds it easy to do so doesn't make it ok.
"He's absolutely petrified."
Well, yes - he got caught. He might have to pay for what he did. That scares a lot of wrong doers, but only after the fact. It should have scared him BEFORE.
Asperger's Syndrome would rightly be something to be taken into account by the courts. It is not a get out of jail free without question card though.
- Rogan, Irving, 07/12/2009 14:17
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Hackers come in all shapes and sizes. The "innocent" hackers get caught and pay the price on behalf of the evil ones. If Gary McKinnon was in the evil bracket, he would be looking around from his home, on a stupid dial up connection. The programme used does no harm to any system. In fact is a stupid programme, readily available on the net. I am not trying to justify anything here. My point is, that hacking is part and parcel of the evolving technology, and as we all know, the Government is joining in as well, to snoop on all of us(provided they spend 5 years learning the technics).
For those who do not want to spend 75 years in jail, in a country where life has no value, remember:Do not use your own computer. Do not use your home, for an internet connection. Use a programme that runs in stealth. Do not steal someone's money. Delete everything on exit, and cover your backside. If you intend to leave messages like Gary did, make sure you use a £25 wireless lap top, hooked on someone's unsecured connection, and smash it to smitherings when you finish.
- Andy, london,UK, 07/12/2009 14:17
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It cuts no ice, once you've rolled the dice. If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.
Bet he'll meet a few aliens in San Quentin.
- Haskey, London SE1, 07/12/2009 14:17
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I've followed this case very closely for some time. Gary McKinnon is no more than a fool. He readily admits what he did, which was trivially easy since the US authorities had such pitiful or, in some cases, entirely absent security. He physically hurt no one, nor caused any significant inconvenience. What he did do, albeit this was not his intention, was cause HUGE embarrassment to those whose job it was to ensure that the US military computers were secure.
He faces 70 years in jail for nothing more malicious than foolish over-curiosity. He has been betrayed by his country - the US authorities are not required to prove that they have a good case against him - they simply demand his extradition and the UK government bends over and hands him to them. Note that NO such reciprocal action would be permitted under US law for a US citizen - the US has explicitly refused to sign a reciprocal agreement.
Feral yobs can roam freely in the UK, but woe betide anyone who upsets our good friends in Washington. He should have murdered someone instead. He'd be out in a few years. Glad to see we've got our priorities right...
- Shaun, SE France, 07/12/2009 14:17
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Give him a year or two in the UK, I think facing the prospect of 70 years is mental punishment enough. Do the crime do the time yes, but some rapists and murderers get incredibly relaxed punishments, hell be nice in prison and you get out within 5. Is Gary Mckinnon a rapist or a murderer? I hardly think so. He was naughty, granted, but the punishment should fit the crime.
- Jacob Chambers, Northampton, 07/12/2009 14:17
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This guy is a real low level hacker, he certainly isnt an expert you would want working for the Pentagon or Nasa, he didn't really cover his tracks and didn't really try and not get caught.
What he did was wrong and it did cause some damage, but it isnt no were near what some Russian and Chinese hackers are upto and not getting coaught.
Let him do 5-6 years here, absolutely no point him going to the US.
- Liberal Thinker, UK, 07/12/2009 14:17
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Commit the crime, do the time!
- Val, London, UK, 07/12/2009 14:17
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To Haskey and Andy, He has committed no crime in this country, as evidenced by the DPP's failure to bring a case. Ignorance of the law is no defence but surely that only refers to the law of the land you live in!
- Jim, London, 07/12/2009 14:17
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He should hack into the legal system and delete his own file!
- Neil, london uk,, 07/12/2009 14:17
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He should be hired by Nasa or the Pentagon as a computer expert. He clearly knows his way around the systems. And 70 yrs? Mass murders don't get those kind of sentences.
- S-M Hearmon, London, UK, 07/12/2009 14:17
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Oh come on, he's not a computer expert, Nasa only changed the default passwords on their servers after they discovered loads of people had been logging in to them. It just so happens that McKinnon didn't do a very good job of covering his tracks and got caught and is being made an example of by the US.
- Bob, Cheam, 07/12/2009 14:17
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