Briton indicted for hacking into U.S. systems

Federal grand juries in Virginia and New Jersey indicted a British man Nov. 12 for hacking into about 100 U.S. computer systems, according to a NASA news release.

Gary McKinnon, an unemployed systems administrator living in London, allegedly accessed and caused damage to NASA, Defense Department, local government and vendor computers and data.

McKinnon's indictment followed a 17-month investigation, coordinated by several groups, including British authorities, NASA's Office of the Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Investigators traced the intrusions through civilian networks to the United Kingdom, whose National Hi-Tech Crime Unit apprehended 36-year-old McKinnon in London.