Gary Mckinnon will NOT be extradited

[OwlHoot]

This news has made my day. I felt sure we were going to bend over for the yanks again. Really pleased about this

except we've quite likely bent over on some even bigger issue behind the scenes, like unlimited US access to all UK bank account details

Maybe the Septics were just using him as a bargaining chip all along for something the UK were being awkward about

(although the idea of even the most token show of UK defiance of US wishes seems faintly absurd)

[vetran]

After re-reading your post I think I misunderstood what you meant. I thought you were saying that stealing information wasn't as bad because you weren't taking it, like you would with beans. My point was that it's still a crime even if the information is left intact.

You are right there its not stealing its illegally knowing, the data is still there. Obviously only governments can know things about you without your consent. Its protectionism, now if he had broken in then it would be a different issue. My analogy was about the ease of access.

[xoggoth]

Either their security was utterly pathetic or he is a very able chap. I wouldn't have a clue how to do that, anyone here have any ideas?

Maybe we could employ him, or somebody with similar abilities, to act for the public and find out some of the things those bastards upstairs don't want us to know, about the lies of Bliar and the Iraq war or what was in those interfering letters by the Prince of Daftness perhaps. Cromwell had the right idea on that one.

[Gentile]

Either their security was utterly pathetic or he is a very able chap. I wouldn't have a clue how to do that, anyone here have any ideas?

Maybe we could employ him, or somebody with similar abilities, to act for the public and find out some of the things those bastards upstairs don't want us to know, about the lies of Bliar and the Iraq war or what was in those interfering letters by the Prince of Daftness perhaps. Cromwell had the right idea on that one.

IIRC it was the former: their security was pathetic. He simply used social engineering (e.g. calling up support lines and simply asking for information that should have been treated as secure but the recipient of the call treated as innocuous, such as VPN details / landline numbers that could be used to access their physical network). He then simply used the default admin usernames and passwords (which hadn't been changed) to gain access. Not high tech at all, just based on basic human failings and minimal research.

[BrilloPad]

Obviously only governments can know things about you without your consent.

And anyone who picks up the data after they leave it on the train.

The government knows way too much about people already.

[Old Hack]

Ah OK . Subsitute 'rocket propelled grenade' for rock then. Or use a missile of your choice.
I started the crime here, but the damage was done there. Same question - where do I get tried?

You get shot as soon as you pick up the Rocket Propelled Grenade I would imagine.

There would be collateral UK damage, so the precedence of law states you'd be tried here, then extradited to be tried there.

Bets of both worlds for you there.

[Old Hack]

If our laws forbid such acts, then he should have been prosecuted under our laws. The Americans would have a point if he'd hacked in from international waters, or from a country with no laws against hacking, but (correct me if I'm wrong) British hacking laws don't only apply to people hacking into British computers.

What if you didn't know the physical location of a computer when you hacked it? What if you hacked into a distributed system like Google? It's all a bit ridiculous.

But he didn't do anything here, he broke no laws here. He used the internet to hack into 5 american departments computers, located in America. He's admitted it, he's also admitted causing damage, the Americans even offered to let him serve his sentence here. He's actually bang to rights.

If he'd have broken into UK computers, he'd have been tried here. If he'd have broken into UK computers, then US computers, he'd have been tried here. But he didn't, he broke into US computers.

What we have witnessed here, is that the Americans have said, ah, let him go. I am sure we'd been shafted elsewhere, possibly over the arabs being deported the other day, for the lad's just plain guilty, and he's admitted it. I can't see the Government saying ah, poor lamb's going to top himself if we send him over, let's be nice to him. Imagine everyone from now on when they are threatened with deportation.

I read last night, that this would have been over by 2005/6 if he'd have just accepted it all, and that the PR machine, and his family, have probably caused him more long term damage than the short sharp 3 years in a uk open prison would have done.

Strange decision.

[BrilloPad]

Man charged with kidnap of British journalist in Syria | UK news | The Guardian

I do hope that Shajul Islam will only be tried in Syria.

[doomage]

Ah OK . Subsitute 'rocket propelled grenade' for rock then. Or use a missile of your choice.
I started the crime here, but the damage was done there. Same question - where do I get tried?

In this case there would probably be no trial.



And you are already being watched.

[BrilloPad]

I read last night, that this would have been over by 2005/6 if he'd have just accepted it all, and that the PR machine, and his family, have probably caused him more long term damage than the short sharp 3 years in a uk open prison would have done.

Strange decision.

I thought that too. But autistic people don't see things the way that you see them.