Loses Latest Battle To Avoid Being Brought To U.S. To Stand Trial

Gary McKinnon, an admitted hacker accused of compromising computers at both NASA and the Pentagon, has lost his latest battle against extradition to the U.S. to face charges.

McKinnon has fought extradition for seven years, but late last week he lost his bid to take his case to the British Supreme Court. His lawyer, Karen Todner, said they may now appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

The online publication eWeek says that, according to the Associated Press, McKinnon has argued that he suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, and that his condition should be taken into account in the case. He described himself to Reuters as a "computer nerd" who wanted to know if aliens actually exist, and began trying to hack U.S. Government computers in an effort to find out. He is accused of hacking computers belonging to the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Department of Defense, as well as NASA computers in 2001 and 2002.

If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

The online community has been generally supportive of McKinnon, and some have said the U.S. Government should not make an example of a conspiracy theorist fascinated with aliens. "(S)erious crimes are still being carried out by financially motivated hackers, stealing identities, sending spam and creating botnets," said Mark Harris, global director of SophosLabs, in a statement.

Todner said McKinnon is not giving up. “The legal team (is) now considering our position and we will exhaust every avenue to prevent Gary's extradition," she said.

FMI: www.supremecourt.gov.uk