UK hacker wants to plead guilty

2009-01-12 19:13

Jill Lawless

London - A British man accused of hacking into US military computers is offering to plead guilty to a criminal charge in Britain to avoid extradition to the United States, his lawyer said on Monday.

Attorney Karen Todner said Gary McKinnon has signed a statement admitting an offence under Britain's Computer Misuse Act.

She said she was hopeful Britain's director of public prosecutions would accept the plea, allowing McKinnon to face proceedings in Britain rather than the US.

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it had received the letter from McKinnon's legal team and said it was considering its contents.

US prosecutors say McKinnon, 42, broke into 97 computers belonging to Nasa, the Department of Defence and several branches of the military from a bedroom in a north London home, causing nearly $1 billion in damage.

McKinnon says he was looking for evidence of UFOs and only succeeded in his hack because of lax security. His lawyers say any alleged offence that took place in Britain should be tried in Britain.

But British and European courts have rejected repeated legal attempts to prevent his extradition.

Next week McKinnon's lawyers will ask the High Court to allow them one more challenge to the government's decision to approve extradition.

They say officials failed to consider that McKinnon has recently been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.

If the court refuses, McKinnon will have exhausted his legal options.

Computer fraud

McKinnon's alleged hacks - which took place soon after the September 11 attacks in the United States - shut down the US Army district responsible for protecting Washington, DC, and cleared logs from computers at Naval Weapons Station Earle in northern New Jersey, which tracks the location and battle-readiness of US Navy ships.

McKinnon was caught in 2002 when investigators traced software used in the attacks to his girlfriend's e-mail account.

If he is extradited to the United States, he will face trial on eight charges of computer fraud.

Each count could bring a sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250 000 fine, but US prosecutors have said he would likely receive a much lighter sentence.

- AP