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\n\tEXCLUSIVE<\/strong>: It was described by US authorities as the “biggest military hack of all time”, and now the BBC is making a feature-length drama about the man behind the keyboard.<\/p>\n \n \tThe BBC has given the green light to The People v Gary McKinnon, which will tell the story of a Scottish hacker who broke into NASA and Pentagon military systems but avoided extradition to the US.<\/p>\n \n \tThe 90-minute single will be produced by Wall to Wall and is based on a script by Peter Harness, a writer who has worked on Doctor Who and Wallander. Lucky Number Slevin director Paul McGuigan is expected to be attached to direct.<\/p>\n \n \tThe Guardian reported that the project was a feature film, but Deadline understands that the BBC has commissioned the one-off drama for TV. Production will begin next spring and casting will take place over the next few months. The BBC declined to comment.<\/p>\n \n \tIn 2001, McKinnon gained access to US military systems in a search for information about UFOs from his London apartment. He was arrested a year later and, with the support of his mother Janis Sharp, fought extradition for a decade. They were successful in 2012 on the basis that McKinnon, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, could pose a risk to his own life.<\/p>\n \n \tHe was able to hack NASA and the Pentagon after realizing that they were using the Windows operating system. He left messages for US authorities, including one that read: “Your security system sucks.”<\/p>\n \n \tNow 57, McKinnon lives in Leicester and runs a small search engine optimization company, according to The Guardian. The People v Gary McKinnon is based on Sharp’s book Saving Gary McKinnon: A Mother’s Story.<\/p>\n