Hacker será extraditado a EE.UU.

El tribunal de la Cámara de Lores respaldó la extradición a EE.UU. del pirata informático Gary McKinnon.

UK hacker could face prison in the US

Britain's most senior judges are due to decide whether a man accused by America of hacking into top secret computers should be extradited to stand trial. Gary McKinnon admits breaking into the computers but says he only did so to find information on UFOs.

Nick Miles reports:

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The US government says Gary McKinnon committed a malicious crime, the biggest military computer hack of all time. He says he's just a bumbling computer nerd.

Washington began extradition proceedings against him three years ago. It says he hacked into 97 US military and NASA computers in 2001 and 2002 with the intention of intimidating the US government. Prosecutors say he altered and deleted files at a Naval Air Station not long after the September 11th attacks in 2001, rendering critical systems inoperable.

Mr McKinnon has admitted that he accessed computers in the United States without the authority to do so but he says his motives were harmless and innocent and he denies any attempts at sabotage. He says he just wanted to find evidence of Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, that he believed was being held by the US authorities.

Two years ago the High Court in London upheld a request by the US government for his extradition. If the law lords agree with that decision he will be sent to America to stand trial.

Nick Miles, BBC

 Listen to the words

malicious
malintencionado o malicioso

computer hack
la piratería informática (más grande en la historia)

a bumbling computer nerd
No hay un equivalente adecuado para 'nerd' en castellano. 'Nerd' es un estereotipo que representa a una persona inteligente, fascinada por el conocimiento y que suele ser asociado a una personalidad torpe y socialmente aislada. En este caso Gary McKinnon dice que él es solamente 'un informático torpe'

began extradition proceedings
empezó los procedimientos para la extradición

with the intention of intimidating
con la intención de intimidar

altered
que modificó o cambió (archivos)

rendering critical systems inoperable
dejando sistemas importantes inoperables

his motives were harmless
sus motivos no eran dañinos

denies any attempts at sabotage
niega cualquier intento de sabotaje

upheld
sostuvo

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