The US appears to have decided to hold upGary McKinnonan example to deter
other would-be hackers from attacking federal
computers.
Following his initial arrest and bail, McKinnon claims that
British police officers told him that a British court would
probably sentence him to six months' community service.
But the mood changed for the worse following a visit by National
High Tech Crime Unit members to US naval intelligence headquarter
in Washington. "Suddenly I was the most dangerous man in the
world," McKinnon said.
At one point, a US Army document published a picture of him and
described him as a terrorist, initially in Arabic script, he
says.
In mid-2005, US law enforcement officials, which McKinnon claims
included Ed Gibson, former FBI special agent and now Microsoft's
head of security in the UK, asked for much tighter control over
him.
The Americans classified him as a fugitive, he says. He was
banned from acccessing the internet and required to report to a
police station every two hours.
US officials initially offered a plea bargain, McKinnon says. If
he volunteered to appear before a US court, he would receive a
reduced sentence of three to four years. He could serve the first
six months in a US prison and the balance in the UK.
McKinnon says he was prepared to accept this deal provided it
was agreed in writing. But when a written contract was not
forthcoming, he refused to go to the US voluntarily.
US officials then threatened to start extradition proceedings
and to call for a prison term up to 65 years without repatriation
upon conviction, he says.
For more, see:
Hacker Gary McKinnon - Computer Weekly Essential Guide
Photo: Copyright Ian Grant 2008