THE EX-HACKER who claims he led US authorities to the suspected WikiLeaks informant Bradley Manning has said he has no regrets for doing so.
Adrian Lamo, 30, claims Manning confessed to him online to being the source of classified US military material which was posted online by the WikiLeaks site. The material included a highly controversial video of a US air crew firing on a group of Iraqi civilians, including two employees of international news agency Reuters.
Lamo said he still considers Manning, who is facing a range of charges for allegedly supplying the information, a friend, according to CNET.
In 2004, Lamo pleaded guilty to hacking into the New York Times’ computer network, Wired reported at the time. He had made a name for himself as the “Homeless Hacker” who hacked by day, then squatted in abandoned buildings or slept on friends’ couches at night.
Speaking to CNET, Lamo said he is now interested in working as a contractor to help the US government counter efforts by hackers “originating from China” to access US systems.
Manning, a US Army private, is awaiting trial on charges ranging from aiding the enemy, to the theft of public property or records. Wired reports that the charges include a capital offence, but US prosecutors have indicated they will not seek the death penalty.
In April, Manning was transferred from the Marine Corps base at Quantico in Virgina to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas after criticism arose over his detention conditions. The UN’s rapporteur on torture had criticised the US government for failing to facilitate private meetings between him and Manning as he investigated the claims made about his conditions.
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