McKinnon loses hacking appeal

Gary McKinnon, the man accused of hacking into US military computers, has had an appeal against the decision to extradite him to the US rejected.

The European Court of Human Rights has thrown out McKinnon's appeal and he is expected to be extradited in the next two weeks.

US prosecutors had attempted to get McKinnon to co-operate and agree a plea bargain, though he could be tried for terror offences and face a lengthy sentence if found guilty.

McKinnon, who claims he was simply looking for evidence of UFOs, had previously taken his appeal against extradition to the House of Lords.

He was arrested in 2002 and, though he never faced charges here, the High Court decided that he should be extradited in 2006.

Security expert Greg Day of McAfee said: "While McKinnon claims not to have accessed US military and Nasa computers to cause deliberate problems, [the extradition] does indicate the seriousness of these actions.

"The virtual nature of cybercrime can mean that it does not evoke the same emotions as violent offences, however it can still cause real pain to those affected," Day continued.

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