Gary McKinnon & Non-Terrestrial Officers: Real or a Game?

[Rick Hunter]

I don't have any sympathy for McKinnon, but there is no way in hell a stoned kid in another country should have been able to get into any US government database, let alone sensitive military databases. That's the real story, and the one the US government sought to distract everyone from with the huffing and puffing about prosecuting him. Under the circumstances, forcing extradition in this case because you are too chickenshit to stand up and admit to being incompetent is just stupid and counterproductive. The way bureaucracies work, the reaction would have been to institute many layers of security, supervision, and accountability in controlling data, which is what Americans should thank him for. He found those moronic mistakes before some creeps in Russia or China did. I am thankful for that.

This, 100%.

 

[HAL9000]

I don't have any sympathy for McKinnon, but there is no way in hell a stoned kid in another country should have been able to get into any US government database, let alone sensitive military databases. That's the real story, and the one the US government sought to distract everyone from with the huffing and puffing about prosecuting him. Under the circumstances, forcing extradition in this case because you are too chickenshit to stand up and admit to being incompetent is just stupid and counterproductive. The way bureaucracies work, the reaction would have been to institute many layers of security, supervision, and accountability in controlling data, which is what Americans should thank him for. He found those moronic mistakes before some creeps in Russia or China did. I am thankful for that.

You can't have it both ways.

You open saying he couldn't have done it, than close by praising him for doing it before (as far as we know) anyone else did.

Which is it ?

 

[wwkirk]

You can't have it both ways.

You open saying he couldn't have done it, than close by praising him for doing it before (as far as we know) anyone else did.

Which is it ?

Did I misread him saying he shouldn't have been able to do it rather than that he couldn't have?

 

[HAL9000]

Did I misread him saying he shouldn't have been able to do it rather than that he couldn't have?

Yes, you are correct.

My bad. Sorry.

 

[Double Nought Spy]

What McKinnon did was illegal, as even a stoned teenager knows. It also wasn't bright. He got caught, by the military if memory serves. I'm sure it was addictive once he broke in somewhere unchallenged. His version of his adventures is pretty interesting, with military users occasionally seeing him and assuming he belonged there. I think he did manage to bullshit his way through a couple of encounters, if his story is to be believed.

The US government tried to make him out as some kind of evil hacker with serious skills and nefarious plans, instead of owning their obvious problem and dealing with it honestly. They ended up just looking more ridiculous. Your crazy aunt has better protection on her meme collection than some of the places McKinnon "hacked" into. As the extradition fuss wore on, McKinnon began to attract some sympathy as the US doggedly pursued an ever more pointless prosecution.

 

[wwkirk]

What McKinnon did was illegal, as even a stoned teenager knows. It also wasn't bright. He got caught, by the military if memory serves. I'm sure it was addictive once he broke in somewhere unchallenged. His version of his adventures is pretty interesting, with military users occasionally seeing him and assuming he belonged there. I think he did manage to bullshit his way through a couple of encounters, if his story is to be believed.

The US government tried to make him out as some kind of evil hacker with serious skills and nefarious plans, instead of owning their obvious problem and dealing with it honestly. They ended up just looking more ridiculous. Your crazy aunt has better protection on her meme collection than some of the places McKinnon "hacked" into. As the extradition fuss wore on, McKinnon began to attract some sympathy as the US doggedly pursued an ever more pointless prosecution.

Somewhat disingenuously, Paul McNulty, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, said on November 12, 2002: "Mr McKinnon is charged with the biggest military computer hack of all time." Illicitly accessing files that are virtually devoid of security probably satisfies the literal definition of hacking, but McNulty's statement is misleading nonetheless.

An amusing, though possibly apocryphal, tidbit is that McKinnon supposedly posted the message "Your security is crap" on one of the US military's websites. I could just see the military IT guys flipping their lids after getting pwned by the stoned, British hacker dude.

 

[pigfarmer]

He should have been sent to the USA and encouraged to divulge everything the knew, or even imagined he knew.
I fail to see how anyone can have ant sympathy for hackers.
He always comes across as not being 'all there' anyway.

that's why they won't extradite him.

 

[pigfarmer]

Maybe it should be remembered that Nietzsche was apparently mad towards the end of his life. But only in the presence of some people. Others who knew him well said that when he was with them he was quite lucid.
It was suspected that he was actually pretending to be insane a lot of the time.

Possibly so was Mckinnon; when it was to his advantage.

There you have it. Proof of reincarnation at last. Nietzsche is clearly reborn my mother-in-law

 

[pigfarmer]

Somewhat disingenuously, Paul McNulty, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, said on November 12, 2002: "Mr McKinnon is charged with the biggest military computer hack of all time." Illicitly accessing files that are virtually devoid of security probably satisfies the literal definition of hacking, but McNulty's statement is misleading nonetheless.

An amusing, though possibly apocryphal, tidbit is that McKinnon supposedly posted the message "Your security is crap" on one of the US military's websites. I could just see the military IT guys flipping their lids after getting pwned by the stoned, British hacker dude.

No idea, but if this guy did what he is accused of he should be punished. If I did it I certainly would be. What, he's got emotional problems so he's not responsible? Yeah, OK. When they come to take me away I'll tell them my Mom didn't hug me enough.

That said, when you are provisioning networks there are areas like a front porch or maybe your new Amazon locker vestibule. Intended to be somewhat secure but not 'inside'. Given half a chance I'd make sure I left some really juicy bits in a box out there somewhere hoping a hacker would find it and run away with 'proof''.

 

[Double Nought Spy]

I never said I didn't think he should be held accountable. That's not the same thing as sending him off to the US to be tried as some kind of supervillain spy. I'm sure officials in the UK intended to prosecute him, but "we" weren't having it. I dunno, it has been a while.

It seems like some of the people who didn't bother with passwords, or used stupid ones, thought they were inside of some impenetrable digital fortress and didn't need to worry about it. Still it seems like you have to be out to lunch though, to find someone you don't know poking around, ask some perfunctory questions, and then start to help them out. "Uh, he said he was in the Pentagon." Sort of reminds me of the poor guy who posted somewhere concerning a video where some jackass was caught lying about being a Marine in Viet Nam. The poster claimed to be a Marine himself, and said something like, "A Marine would never lie about that!" Um, yeaaaahhhh. Okay then.

 

[pigfarmer]

In the end he likely did DoD a favor. They're the only ones who really know what happened.