Skip to main content

European Court backs UK hacker extradition

  • Story Highlights
  • European Court refused to delay Gary McKinnon's extradition to United States
  • McKinnon alleged to have hacked into 97 NASA, military computers
  • McKinnon claims he was searching for UFOs
  • Next Article in World »
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The European Court of Human Rights cleared the way Thursday for the extradition of a British man to the United States, where prosecutors say he hacked into computers at a variety of military installations including the Pentagon, U.S. Navy, and NASA.

Gary McKinnon had appealed to the court to block his extradition, but the court announced Thursday it was refusing his request.

The U.S. government says McKinnon carried out the biggest military computer hacking of all time, accessing 97 computers from his home in London and costing the government about $1 million.

Don't Miss

According to The Associated Press, his attacks allegedly shut down the U.S. Army district responsible for protecting Washington D.C. and cleared logs from computers at a base that tracks the location and battle-readiness of U.S. Navy ships.

McKinnon has said he was simply doing research to find out whether the U.S. government was covering up the existence of UFOs.

All About NASAEuropean Court of Human Rights

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print