Security threats Toolkit

Story: Nasa hacker loses second Home Office appeal

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Guilt by Click-Association

I was thinking more like if he's clicked through to or typed into his browser window a URL for a jihadist website, as far as Homeland Insecurity is concerned that's proof enough to make him a terrorist! The jingoistic paranoids running Homeland (In-)Security think that anything goes when "protecting" the US.

They'll say: "The Constitution doesn't apply to him! He's an alien!" Well guess what? Other countries are expecting us to operate as if it does.

I think he's mentally ill. Most hackers are likely mentally ill to some extent. They all seem to think they are the best at what they do and that they won't get caught. (Teenagers seem to share that same problem! Most of them grow out of it though!) Its the same "illness" or attitude that puts a lot of adult criminal types in prison.

The obsession with UFO's counts as a mental illness as far as I'm concerned! As far as I know its not a defense that can get you out of jail though. I think he's able to understand what he did was wrong, he confessed to it after all. In the US, if you are able to understand the charges, know right from wrong and can contribute to your own defense, you are able to stand trial even if you are somewhat mentally ill. What I think is that he should have kept his mouth shut and gotten an British attorney immediately. That is where he screwed up.

He probably thought he could talk his way out of the charges and that's why he "confessed". That was what sealed it. If he hadn't confessed, the Home Office would say that the US hadn't any proof that would stand examination in court and the extradition action wouldn't have happened. Of course the way he did his "hacking" was pretty lame considering that they tracked him straight to his home ISP account. Duh! That alone tells me he's not much of a hacker. My guess is that they want to make an example out of him or the trace logs on all of his "hacking" might have something of interest. The way to get the trace logs is to extradite him and the logs will come with him.

The trace logs from the US side of the pond would point to the ISP but not necessarily to him. The final "last mile" would have to be covered by the ISP he had his service with. The only way to get those is to get him extradited and get them from the ISP. In US courts, that "last mile" is the proof they need to show a jury that he's guilty.

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