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UK hacker appeals against extradition

A hacker who attacked military systems in the US is appealing to the House of Lords to prevent extradition.

Gary McKinnon, who hails from Glasgow, exploited the insufficient online security used by 97 Nasa and US military bases to hack into their systems, the BBC reports.

Using the moniker Solo, Mr McKinnon used his knowledge of internet security weaknesses to infiltrate the systems - a crime that he has never denied undertaking.

That such institutions are vulnerable to attacks by online threats might be seen as a prompt for consumers to review their own protection against malware, phishing and other attacks.

Mr McKinnon's lawyers argue that he has been subject to "improper threats" from the US authorities, including one suggesting that he "would fry".

However, two high court judges have found no grounds for appeal, forcing the hacker to take his case to the law lords.

The US military has been subject to a number of attacks by skilled hackers, including 20-year old Jeanson James Ancheta, who ITSecurity.com states managed to infect the United States Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and the Defense Information Systems Agency with botnets.

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