He thought that the American government was hiding some information about UFOs and staged one of the biggest hacking events in history.
Gary McKinnon is a system administrator and hacker born on February 10, 1966. McKinnon, who committed the biggest military computer hack of all time in 2002, is also known for his interest in UFOs.
McKinnon, who bought his first computer at the age of 14, dropped out of school and worked as a hair designer. Later, with the persuasion of his friends, he became interested in computers. After attending a computer course, he did computer-related work on a contract basis.
Towards the end of the 1990s, he wanted to use his acquired skills in some kind of research field. He thought that the American government was hiding some information about UFOs and staged one of the biggest hacking events in history.
Gary McKinnon (born 10 February 1966) is a Scottish systems administrator and hacker who was accused in 2002 of perpetrating the "biggest military computer hack of all time", although McKinnon himself states that he was merely looking for evidence of free energy suppression and a cover-up of UFO activity and other technologies potentially useful to the public. On 16 October 2012, after a series of legal proceedings in Britain, then Home Secretary Theresa May blocked extradition to the United States.
A few months after 9/11, a US military computer read: “Your security system sucks. Ben Solo. A message saying "I will continue to disturb at the highest levels" was encountered.
McKinnon, whose nickname is Solo, infiltrated 97 computers belonging to the American army and NASA from his girlfriend's aunt's house in London in 2001 and 2002. He took data and copied files and passwords from computers in the Air Force, Navy, and Ministry of Defense. It is even said that it took 2000 computers out of service for a while. It was also stated that as a result of all this, it caused a loss of over 700,000 dollars.
McKinnon, who was questioned by the British Technology Crime Unit in 2002, was also indicted by a federal jury in November of the same year. He was released in 2005 on the condition that he go to the local police station every evening and stay at his home address at night. If he was handed over to the USA and charged, he faced the possibility of 70 years in prison.
It was also understood that Gary McKinnon, who was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 2008, went through a period of intense depression. His extradition request was rejected by the United Kingdom in case he committed suicide as a result of being handed over to the United States.
The obsessive search for the truth, which is thought to be due to Asperger's, caused these hacking incidents to occur. It was also stated that McKinnon infiltrated the army's computers using software that could be purchased by anyone. McKinnon, who stated that he did not act with any malicious intent, was ruled not guilty in 2012.