Alleged NASA hacker to speak at security show

Gary McKinnon, the British man fighting extradition to the U.S., is planning to appear on a panel discussing hacking at a U.K. security conference, it was revealed on Thursday. McKinnon is charged with gaining unauthorised access to 97 US government computers, including machines belonging to NASA and the US Department of Defense. He claims he was searching for evidence of UFOs.

The panel will take place at Infosecurity Europe on April 27 in London. McKinnon will be joined on the panel by Robert Schifreen, who was acquitted of charges connected with a break-in of a BT network and accessing an account belonging to the Duke of Edinburgh. Also appearing on the panel will be security expert Bob Ayers, who had a 29-year career with the U.S. Department of Defense, where he served as chief of the Intelligence Information System Computer Security Program for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Tom Espiner of ZDNet UK reported from London. Click here for the full story.