Hacking suspect Ryan Cleary was a 'great power on the internet'

Teenager diagnosed with Asperger's syndorme since arrest

Parallels with Gary McKinnon case who is fighting extradition to U.S.

'Reclusive': A court heard that Ryan Cleary was 'great power on the internet'

A teenager accused of attacking the websites of the CIA and the Pentagon was described in court yesterday as a ‘great power on the internet’ who can attack anyone he does not like in cyberspace.

‘Reclusive’ Ryan Cleary, 19, was accused of ‘infecting’ more than 100,000 computers around the world and of being a key member of a hacking group called Lulzsec.

He was held at his home in Essex on Monday in a joint operation between the FBI and Scotland Yard.

He was granted bail at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, but prosecutors appealed against the decision, which means Cleary must remain in custody until tomorrow when the case will be reconsidered.

The court heard that Cleary had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, since his arrest last week,

He was granted bail today but prosecutors immediately objected, meaning that he will remain in custody until Monday when an appeal will be heard.

The case draws parallels with that of Gary McKinnon, who also has Asperger's, and is fighting extradition to America over allegations of hacking into US military computers.

He admits breaking into systems including those of Nasa and the Pentagon but says he was seeking UFO evidence.

Custody: Cleary sits in the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court accused of carrying out hacking attacks

Today, district judge Nicholas Evans, sitting at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, heard that Cleary's condition was diagnosed by a psychologist.

Cleary did not enter any plea to the five offences under the Criminal Law and Computer Misuse Act with which he is charged.

His bail appeal will be heard at Southwark Crown Court, where the case is also due for a plea and case management hearing on August 30.

Cleary was arrested at his family home on Monday as part of a Scotland Yard and FBI probe into LulzSec, a group which claims responsibility for hacking attempts on Soca, the US Senate and the CIA.

Concern: The suspected hacker's mother Rita Cleary leaves City of Westminster Magistrates after her son was denied bail after prosecutors complained

He is charged with conspiring with other people on or before June 20 to create a remotely controlled network of zombie computers, known as a 'botnet', to carry out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, where websites are flooded with traffic to make them crash.

He is also alleged to have carried out similar attacks against the British Phonographic Industry's website and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's website on or before June 20.

If he wins his bail appeal on Monday, he will be subject to the conditions that he will not have access to the internet and will not have in his possession any device which could access the internet.