If extradited, British hacker, Lauri Love could get 99 years jail time for hacking into US Army, NASA and FBI websites
A British activist faces up to 99 years in a US jail for allegedly hacking into agencies including the US Army, NASA and the FBI. Lauri Love, 31, was arrested at his home in Suffolk on three warrants from the USA relating to alleged offences committed in New Jersey, Virginia and New York during 2012 and 2013.
According to the prosecution, Love allegedly broke into the computers of various major US government agencies, including the Federal Reserve Bank and the Missile Defence Agency.
For his latest extradition hearing, Love appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court wearing a green hat with a bear on it while carrying a copy of the book ‘Saving Gary McKinnon: A Mother’s Story’. Glasgow-born hacker, McKinnon had faced similar hacking charges in the US but he was saved from extradition after the home secretary, Theresa May, intervened.
Reports confirm Love who is an Asperger’s sufferer did break into the computers of various major US government agencies, pilfering classified information. Love appeared in the Court as the UK’s National Crime Agency began a fresh attempt to force him to reveal his encryption keys and passwords.
He was allegedly part of a criminal network specialising in computer intrusions, and is said to have taken part in a ‘hacktivist’ protest against the US government by Anonymous.
So far, Love has refused to hand over his encryption keys and passwords following his arrest at his parent’s home in Stradishall, Suffolk, in 2013. His case has been compared to McKinnon, 50, who escaped extradition to the US in 2012 after being accused of the ‘biggest military computer hack of all time’.
The NCA prosecutor requested the District Judge Nina Tempia to “order Love to disclose the information.” The prosecutors failure to obtain the data even after citing the section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Power’s Act is seen as a big boost for Love/
Love is on bail and is taking legal steps against NCA as he tries to “secure the return of his computer equipment”.
Those supporting Love include, Courage Foundation, who clamor for his release as “he could not cope with conditions in the U.S. prison system”, they observed.
