Expert: UK hacker was naive not criminal

A British computer expert hacked into US military networks through “naivety” as a result of his Asperger’s Syndrome and should not be considered a criminal, an expert said today.

Gary McKinnon, 42, is fighting extradition to the US, where he faces up to 70 years in prison if he is found guilty of gaining access to and damaging 97 American Navy, Army, Nasa and Pentagon computers.

His supporters held a press conference today to make a desperate plea for him to be prosecuted in the UK on a lesser charge instead.

Cambridge University professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a leading expert on Asperger’s Syndrome, said what Mr McKinnon did was “the activity of somebody with a disability rather than a criminal activity”.

He insists he was looking for evidence of UFOs when he hacked into the US military networks in 2001 and 2002.

Prof Baron-Cohen said Mr McKinnon’s behaviour was typical of the “social naivety” that is common in people with Asberger’s Syndrome.

He said: “It can bring a sort of tunnel vision so that in their pursuit of the truth they are blind to the potential social consequences for them or for other people.”