British hacker loses extradition appeal

LONDON, July 30 (UPI) -- A British man accused of hacking into U.S. military computers faces extradition after he lost an appeal Wednesday in the House of Lords.

Gary McKinnon, 42, a systems analyst who allegedly broke into 97 military computers from his bedroom in North London, could face at least 10 years in prison in the United States in what some say is the biggest military hacking case in history, The Times of London reported.

McKinnon was accused of crashing the U.S. Army's network of 2,000 computers for 24 hours, significantly disrupting government functions. Among other charges, U.S. prosecutors allege he rendered inoperable 300 computers at a U.S. Navy weapons station immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Since five law lords dismissed his appeal in his six-year extradition fight, McKinnon's last hope would be to ask the European Court of Human Rights to issue a stay on proceedings pending consideration of his case, The Times said.

McKinnon never denied hacking into the computer networks between February 2001 and March 2002. But his attorneys maintain their client was motivated by curiosity and accessed the systems because of lax security, The Times said.