Newswise — One government lawyer called it "the biggest military hack of all time." Beginning in 2001, a hacker scanned thousands of government computers, stealing documents and passwords from machines owned by the Pentagon and NASA. The government's networks weren't compromised by a foreign agent bent on espionage--instead, they were infiltrated by a Scottish loner determined to find evidence that the United States government was hiding evidence of UFOs.
IEEE Spectrum's July cover story explains that hacker Gary McKinnon's obsessive quest ended with his arrest in 2002. But the criminal case against him is still raging. McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome--a form of autism that some experts believe is more common among people who have an aptitude for math, science, and engineering--and his defense team argues that his diagnosis explains his compulsive, bizarre hacking quest. This profile of McKinnon raises the provocative question: Is Asperger's the insanity defense for the digital age?
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