# 391: A Terrified UK Hacker, NASA’s Secret Files & the Life Sentence That Hung Over Him

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mile-higher-460198/391-a-terrified-uk-hacker-nasa-s-secret-files-the-life-sentence-that-hung-over-him
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mile-higher-460198/391-a-terrified-uk-hacker-nasa-s-secret-files-the-life-sentence-that-hung-over-him.md
Podcast: [Mile Higher](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mile-higher-460198)
Published: 2026-04-30T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8897021
Audio file: https://op3.dev/e/pdst.fm/e/arttrk.com/p/ABMA5/clrtpod.com/m/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8897021.mp3?modified=1782537561&sid=5011925&source=rss
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Duration seconds: 6570

## Resource

Today, the fear of hacking into our government’s sensitive digital information is one of the country’s top national security priorities. However, what if the largest U.S. government hack in history wasn’t perpetrated by a foreign adversary, but a regular guy with his home computer in London? Gary McKinnon, using off-the-shelf, legal software, was able to hack dozens of Government computers, some even located in the Pentagon. His goal: to spread his political message of anti-imperialism and search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. But what followed his hacks was a decade in which he feared extradition and a life behind bars in the United States. Still, the question remains: what did he find? AuraFrames: The perfect gift https://auraframes.com/milehigher to save $25 on a Carver Mat frame! Use code MILEHIGHER at checkout! Casper: The sleep that you deserve https://casper.com and save up to 20% on mattresses! ZocDoc: Take the stress out of appointments https://zocdoc.com/milehigher catch up on those checkups! MintMobile: Save on your phone bill https://mintmobile.com/milehigher to get started for the best in unlimited plans! Intro 0:00 Gary's Early Life 13:53 Not Like the other Kids 23:24 The Death of the Living Spaces 30:10 Learning to Hack 39:46 Fuel on the Fire 52:16 Breaking into the Government Computers 1:07:25 Simpler than it Should Have Been 1:23:04 Legal Troubles 1:33:00 The End? 1:43:22 Final Thoughts & Outro 1:54:18 Mile Higher Media website: https://milehigher.com/ Higher Hope Foundation: https://www.higherhope.org/ Mile Higher Merch: milehighermerch.com Check out our other podcasts! The Sesh https://bit.ly/3Mtoz4X Lights Out https://bit.ly/3n3Gaoe Planet Sleep https://linktr.ee/planetsleep Join our official FB group! https://bit.ly/3kQbAxg MHP YouTube:…

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