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British UFO fan in 'biggest US military hack of all time' faces 60 years...
"A UFO fanatic who hacked into hundreds of American military computers faces a 60-year jail sentence in the U.S. after the Law Lords rejected his appeal against extradition.
Gary McKinnon, 44, who was first arrested six years ago, now plans to take his case to the European Court.
A self- confessed 'bumbling nerd', he became a hacker after watching the film WarGames, in a which a teenager almost starts a war by accessing Pentagon secrets.
Convinced that the U.S. Government had made contact with aliens, McKinnon spent years seeking evidence by hacking into official computers from a North London bedroom. He claims he was caught while trying to download a photograph of a UFO.
But he also caused concern when, calling himself Solo, he left a threatening message on an army computer suggesting the September 11 attacks were an 'inside job'.
His message said: 'US foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism these days...It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand down on September 11 last year...I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels.'
In November 2002 specialist UK police arrested him and seized his simple home computer in the bedroom of his girlfriend's aunt's house in north London.
The UK Government supported the American extradition call, but McKinnon fought through the High Court to the House of Lords, complaining that the U.S. government had infringed his human rights by threatening him.
The programmer, who wanted to be prosecuted in Britain, says he will be treated as a terrorist, could be tried by a military tribunal and held in Guantanamo Bay, and that one U.S. attorney said the authorities want him to 'fry'.
McKinnon's lawyers said he faces dire consequences after rejecting a deal to accept extradition and guilty to limited offences. That would have meant serving as little as 18 months.
But McKinnon said he was told the deal would not be put in writing and 'only a fool' would have gone to the U.S. on those terms. He admits hacking into 97 computers belonging to the U.S. army, navy, air force, Nasa and the Pentagon, but denies sabotage."
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Full story at link by Neil Sears// Daily Mail Online "A UFO fanatic who hacked into hundreds of American military computers faces a 60-year jail sentence in the U.S. after the Law Lo... more -
Two dozen busted for child porn
The owner of a web site in Germany who hosted free forums for discussions alerted the authorities that some individuals were using his web site to exchange juvenile pornography material. The owner of a web site in Germany who hosted free forums for discussions alerted the authorities that some individuals were using his... more
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Serial spammer faces 26 years
Serial spammer, Robert Soloway, won't be sending emails for a few years after it has been announced he could be facing a sentence of 26 years with accompanying $625,000 fine, after he pleaded guilty to electronic mail fraud, "snail" mail fraud, and not filing a tax return in 2005 (a year he allegedly made over $300,000).
At one point, Soloway was deemed the world's eighth largest spammer and has subsequently been charged with fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.
He is being held in custody until trial, when all his 'ill-gotten' gains will be seized.
Will his arrest worry other 'serial spammers' or just open avenues for other spammers to move in on Soloway's 'spamming ground'? Serial spammer, Robert Soloway, won't be sending emails for a few years after it has been announced he could be facing a sentence... more -
Teenage hacker kingpin taken offline.
It's like Hackers in real life!
Police in New Zealand have arrested a teenager they say was the ringleader of an international cyber crime network. The network is alleged to have infiltrated over one million computers and skimmed millions of dollars from people's bank accounts. The teenager, who is 18, cannot be named for legal reasons but his cyber identification was "Akill". It's like Hackers in real life! ... more -
Pirate Bay Laughs Off 3 Pronged Legal Assault
The Pirate Bay faces three separate legal challenges this holiday season, though site administrators tell Arstechnica.com that they're not worried by any of the pending cases. A Swedish prosecutor wants to take down the site, though, and Prince has set his lawyers on the same task.
Most pressing, perhaps, is the news that a Swedish prosecutor soon plans to press charges against the popular BitTorrent search engine. The charges will be filed before January 31, 2008, by prosecutor Håkan Roswall. The Pirate Bay faces three separate legal challenges this holiday season, though site administrators tell Arstechnica.com that they�... more -
Police smash web-based music and movie piracy ring
LONDON - Police have arrested three people on suspicion of being involved in one of the country's biggest internet-based music and film piracy rings, officials said.
The alleged ringleader, an unnamed 33-year-old man, was held in a dawn raid at work in Cardiff, the city's trading standards department said.
A second man aged 28 and a woman aged 22 were also arrested in the anti-piracy operation in the Welsh capital. They have been bailed pending further police inquiries.
Police and officials from the Intellectual Property Office and the BPI, a music industry body, took part in the raids, seizing computer equipment.
The gang was one of the biggest suppliers of pirate music and films in Britain, trading standards officials and the BPI said in a joint statement. LONDON - Police have arrested three people on suspicion of being involved in one of the country's biggest internet-based music an... more
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