Archive for the ‘Case’ Category
The truth may be out there somewhere, but for Gary McKinnon, it will be in the US. As the British hacker who infiltrated multiple US government computers searching for proof that aliens exist, McKinnon has lost his appeal of extradition and will face trial in US courts.
Between 2001 and 2002, McKinnon used a simple brute-force Perl script over a 56Kbps modem that tested default passwords against various systems in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, NASA, the Pentagon, and even the Department of Defense. He was also charged with shutting down the entire US Army’s Military District of Washington network—more than 2,000 computers in all—for 24 hours.
The UK’s National Hi-Tech Crime Unit ultimately caught and arrested McKinnon under the Computer Misuse Act. The US asked for extradition, which, according to critics, would allow McKinnon to be used as an example and a deterrent to future hackers.
In 2006, the UK approved McKinnon’s extradition to the US, after which he announced plans to appeal the decision. According to Reuters, the hacker’s appeal made it to the House of Lords—Britain’s highest court—where it has just been denied.
McKinnon claims that he was only searching for proof that aliens exist, but he faces penalties of up to 70 years in prison and fines that could amount to $1.75 million. Paul McNulty, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, dubbed McKinnon’s crime “the biggest military computer hack of all time,” which critics of his extradition are citing as a prime reason why he could receive a punishment disproportionate to his deeds.
Further muddying the question of exactly how much damage McKinnon did are his claims of finding evidence from other hackers who accessed the same computer systems he did, but successfully evaded detection. Based on previous sentences for similar crimes, critics say the potential for up to 70 years in prison and $1.75 million in fines are outlandish punishments and a breach of his human rights for the $700,000 in damages McKinnon is accused of causing.
Big Payday for Lawyers in Britney Spears Case – Britney Spears : People.com
Posted on: April 18, 2008
- In: Big | Britney Spear | Britney Spears | Case | Lawyers | Payday | People.com
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“A Los Angeles court on Thursday ordered payment of nearly $400,000 to the numerous lawyers involved in Britney Spears’s affairs – with the pop star footing the bill.
All the attorneys have been working on the case for less than three months.
Samuel Ingham, Spears’s court-appointed attorney, will continue to receive $10,000 a week, Commissioner Reva Goetz ruled.
Andrew Wallet, the co-conservator of Spears’s finances, will receive an advance of $100,000. (Wallet had not been paid since becoming involved last February.).
The firm which won Jamie Spears control of his daughter’s affairs will also be advanced $175,000, and a lawyer representing Britney’s brother Bryan Spears will get $22,500, while Stacy Phillips, Britney’s new divorce lawyer, will receive $75,000.”
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